Miscarriage
Unfortunately, not every pregnancy goes well and some women have a miscarriage. A miscarriage is a spontaneous termination of a pregnancy. About a quarter of women have to deal with this. Women's Healthcare Center Amsterdam supports women during pregnancy and miscarriage.
What is a miscarriage?
A miscarriage is the loss of an early pregnancy. In the Netherlands, we speak of a miscarriage if the pregnancy is terminated before 16 weeks. About 15% of women experience this during their first pregnancy. This often happens early in the pregnancy and many women do not yet know that they are pregnant. Vaginal bleeding can be a sign of a miscarriage. After the first trimester, the chance of a miscarriage is very small.
Types of miscarriage
There are two types of miscarriage: early miscarriage and non-intact pregnancy.
Early miscarriage: this is the loss of a non-viable fetus early in pregnancy. On the ultrasound, only a gestational sac is visible, there is no embryo in it.
Non-intact pregnancy: in a slightly later miscarriage, the embryo can be seen on the ultrasound, but it is often smaller than it should be at that time. The heart does not beat.
At Women's Healthcare Center you will be monitored closely during pregnancy and if you have any doubts you can come by for an extra check. This way we keep a close eye on you and your unborn child. If there is anything wrong we will see it immediately.
Causes of a miscarriage
A miscarriage can occur for various reasons. In most cases, this is due to an abnormality in the fetus. The fetus often has one chromosome too few or too many, which leads to a disorder of the pregnancy. As a result, the fetus cannot grow any further and is rejected by the body.
Other causes may include: a fibroid, abnormality of the cervix or ectopic pregnancy. The embryo may also be damaged from outside by chorionic villus sampling, accident or amniocentesis.
Recognizing miscarriage
A miscarriage often starts with some blood loss that increases over the course of the days. A miscarriage can also start all at once. There is blood loss with tissue residues. In addition, you often have cramps and you can lose blood clots. Up to 6 weeks of pregnancy it is very normal that you do not hear a heartbeat, this does not necessarily mean that you are having a miscarriage. After 6 weeks, the heartbeat should be audible.
What to do in case of a miscarriage?
If you have had a miscarriage, there are three options: wait and see, treatment with medication or surgery.
The natural way : you can wait until the miscarriage starts. This usually happens within two weeks after the first blood loss.
Medication treatment : the hospital, midwife or gynaecologist will give you tablets that need to be inserted vaginally. Once the medication takes effect, the miscarriage will start after 1 to 2 days.
Procedure in hospital : curettage is a short surgical procedure in hospital. This takes about fifteen minutes. The uterine cavity is emptied with a kind of tube, suction or scraper.
What can we do for you?
Women's Healthcare Center provides expert care and support for women. Our team of specialisten will do everything they can to help you get the right diagnosis and find the best treatment options.
