What is a Silent Miscarriage?

By admin

Pregnancy is a rollercoaster of emotion, excitement and worry, anxiety and nerves, and that is just the first trimester!

From the time you take that test and see a positive result, you’ll never be the same again. It is normal to analyze every feeling you have and to worry if things don’t seem to be going as they did for your mom, sister, or girlfriends.

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One of the things women worry about is not experiencing any recognizable pregnancy symptoms or the sudden loss or change of pregnancy symptoms after initially experiencing them. 

A silent miscarriage is defined as a loss of pregnancy where the body has not expelled the fetal tissue. 

Also known as a missed miscarriage or a missed abortion, it is often not discovered until a woman attends a routine ultrasound. Regardless of when it happens, it is a sad loss and isn’t something that happened due to the expecting mom doing anything wrong. 

Sadly 1 in 8 pregnancies end in a miscarriage, usually due to a random chromosomal abnormality during fertilization, however, most women who have experienced one will go on to have a healthy pregnancy in the future. 

What are the Symptoms of a Silent Miscarriage?  

There are often no symptoms to a silent miscarriage, as the body doesn’t recognize that the pregnancy has ended, the placenta will still continue to produce hormones and some early pregnancy symptoms may still continue until the hormone levels begin to reduce in your body, this is why a pregnancy test may still read positive for some time post-pregnancy loss. 

This isn’t always the case though and some women will report waking up and suddenly ‘not feeling pregnant’ anymore or will experience a loss of early pregnancy symptoms over a few days and this can cause a lot of worries and stress to expecting parents. 

It’s also important not to mention the fact that some women have simply had a gut feeling that the pregnancy has ended regardless of symptoms, intuition is a powerful thing and a chat with your healthcare provider wouldn’t be remiss if this happens.

We are more in tune with our bodies than people realize and sometimes, you just know.   

Should I be Worried if I Don’t Feel Pregnant Anymore? 

It’s completely normal to have fluctuations of early pregnancy symptoms, the nausea from yesterday may be replaced with fatigue tomorrow; Your body is changing rapidly, and your hormones are running riot. It takes a lot to grow a whole human inside you. 

It’s also worth mentioning that no two pregnancies are the same so if this isn’t your first pregnancy you might not have the same symptoms as previous experiences. 

Your family and friends, colleagues, and well-meaning acquaintances may be quick to give you advice on how their pregnancy went, and whilst having a support network is encouraged, your pregnancy will not be identical to theirs. 

However, if your symptoms stop suddenly or are combined with pain, spotting, bleeding, or if you just don’t feel right, then it’s always advisable to get checked by your healthcare provider. 

How do I Know if I’m Still Pregnant? 

It’s completely normal for a loss of pregnancy symptoms to cause anxiety and you’ll want to know if everything is progressing as normal. 

Always check in with your healthcare provider if you’re concerned, they should offer reassurance and advice and if you’re six weeks or more in your pregnancy, then you should be able to get a transvaginal ultrasound to see if your baby’s heartbeat can be seen.

The other thing to do is wait it out, this is frustrating but waiting a day or two may see symptoms reappear or new ones to develop or you may start bleeding which will signify that you have had a miscarriage. 

A pregnancy test isn’t an accurate measure at this point as even if you have miscarried, pregnancy hormones may still be present enough to give a positive reading on a test. 

No Symptoms at 4 Weeks – Should I Worry? 

At four weeks gestation your baby is still an embryo and just the size of a Poppyseed. You should get a positive pregnancy test now and might have missed your period, but the baby has only just been implanted into the womb lining and it’s not unusual to have little or no symptoms.

A lot of women at this stage still haven’t even realized they are pregnant at all or are questioning why they feel a little run down if anything at all. It is common to mistake those first pregnancy symptoms with your normal menstrual ones. 

No Symptoms at 5 Weeks – Should I Worry? 

Your baby is the size of an Apple seed, this is the time that most women will discover they are pregnant.

A lot of women report that symptoms at this stage come and go, it’s normal not to have symptoms every day and differing symptoms swap in and out as the days go on, morning may be different from the afternoon and then change all over again come night-time. 

It is also common for women to have nothing more than slightly increased fatigue and mild mood swings. However, having no symptoms at all is still very possible and not necessarily something to worry about. 

I Don’t Feel Pregnant at 6 Weeks – Should I Worry?

It’s still completely normal to have no symptoms at this stage, some women will have awful nausea at the slightest smell or sight of food, and some will have nothing at all. Baby is as big a small pea but from here onwards will double in size every week. 

This is an emotional time in pregnancy, it still might not have sunk it that you’re pregnant and you might swing from anxiety and worry over your symptoms (or lack of) before coming back to nervous excitement.

A lot of parents still haven’t broken the news to those around them at this stage either and keeping everything quiet can make it all seem a bit much. 

After six weeks is when most women will start to get some symptoms though as your baby’s development accelerates. 

I Don’t Feel Pregnant at 10 Weeks – Should I Be Concerned? 

By now your baby is the size of a small apricot and around 80% of women are feeling some sort of recognizable symptom, even if it’s not severe. However, it’s still not unheard of to have fewer or no symptoms.

Consider the fact that you might be working full time still, looking after other children, and still doing all the normal things you do, it might be that you’re just not noticing milder symptoms. Your body might just be sailing through without you knowing.

You should be close to a routine ultrasound scan now which will put your mind at ease. You should also have met your healthcare pregnancy team by now so can give them a call if you’re concerned.

Only two more weeks to go before a doppler can pick up your baby’s heartbeat so keep going Mom, you’re doing great and you’re not alone, every woman who has had a baby is with you and can empathize. 

Can you Just Not Feel Pregnant Anymore? 

Yes, it happens. Sometimes as you’re entering a new stage of your pregnancy you can stop feeling pregnant.

Whilst this can mean you are experiencing a silent miscarriage it doesn’t always mean that something is wrong. 

Doctors don’t know why some women feel very pregnant the whole 40 weeks and some don’t even notice they’re having a baby until they arrive at the hospital in labor; there is no ‘one size fits all.’ 

The only thing to really say is to try and keep calm, seek support from those around you and speak to your healthcare team. 

Pregnancy may be magical, but it is also tough, on the mind, body, and soul and it’s hard to distinguish between the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms sometimes as they overlap constantly.

If you’ve had a positive test and missed a period or two then keep going and be kind to yourself. 

Try to remember that it’s most likely that everything is fine, but if you have experienced a silent miscarriage then your healthcare team will be able to find out and look after you appropriately.

Once you’re out of your first trimester the chances of miscarriage drop dramatically, take it one day at a time.