Myths and Facts of Miscarriage

Women, did your menstrual cycle come late this month? According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, a late menstrual cycle could have been a miscarriage. Miscarriages are very common and approximately one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and many women don't realize it, or even seek medical care when it occurs.

Not every loss of a pregnancy is termed a miscarriage. According to the Babycenter Medical Advisory Board(www.babycenter.com), miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy only in the first 20 weeks. Anything after that is termed a stillbirth.  Another myth is that a miscarriage is the fault of the mother but that is not always true.  "Between 50-70 percent of miscarriages are thought to be random events caused by chromosomal abnormalities in the fertilized egg, " says the Babycenter board.

There are many symptoms of miscarriage which include pain in the abdomen, and bleeding from the vagina but just because you are bleeding during pregnancy doesn't always necessairly mean a miscarriage. "Bleeding during early pregnancy is common and is not always serious. Many women have slight vaginal bleeding after the egg implants in the uterus which can be mistaken for a threatened miscarriage," says the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. It's very important to seek prenatal care while pregnant so that your Obstetrician can distinguish that for you. "Some miscarriages are discovered only during a routine prenatal visit, when the doctor or midwife can't hear th fetal heartbeat or the uterus isn't as large as it should be at your stage, " says Babycenter board.