Jul

30

Was I Pregnant And Miscarried Or Never Pregnant At All?

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This is a very common question. Many people who are late, but begin bleeding before taking a pregnancy test, or have a negative test, assume that they were pregnant and miscarried. The “evidence” for this piles up when the cramps are stronger, there is more blood, and maybe even clots are passed.

Miscarried-or-not-pregnant

Most likely, this was not a miscarriage. Remember that light bleeding is common in pregnancy and may not signal the end if it stops shortly after it starts. See symptoms for more information. If you have had a positive pregnancy test, this information is not for you. There is no doubt you were pregnant. Go the the miscarriage diagnosis section instead.
One important note: If your blood type is Rh negative (such as O negative, A negative, B negative, or AB negative), you MUST have a shot to prevent building antibodies after a miscarriage if the father was Rh positive. If you even suspect a miscarriage, find out your blood type and see a doctor right away (within 72 hours) to determine if you need the shot to protect your future pregnancies.

Here’s some information that might help you understand unusual periods that are not miscarriages, especially if you had a negative pregnancy test:

  • But my period was so heavy and painful.

Any late period is going to be heavy.

A late period is caused by extra time being added to the first half of the cycle, which is when the lining is being built. If more lining is built, it will cause more blood flow and stronger cramps to get it out. Blood clots are a natural part of any lining that has had to hang around longer than intended. Late periods are often caused by illness, stress, serious physical exertion, or hormone changes.

  • But I timed intercourse just right, and my period came early.

An early period is almost never a miscarriage.

An early period is often caused by a lack of ovulation, or the ovulation of an egg that is not able to be fertilized. As a result, progesterone is not produced sufficiently to keep the last part of your cycle going. In this situation, a pregnancy cannot happen. Even a positive ovulation test does not mean your ovulation will surely happen or will produce a quality egg. If you are charting your temperatures, however, and see that you did not have at least 10 days between ovulation and when your periods began, you may have a luteal phase defect. Read more about it.

But I saw some tissue that must have been a pregnancy.

A baby from a pregnancy that made your period less than two weeks late is not usually visible to the naked eye.

Even if the baby had grown, it would be about the size of a grain of rice. This would be impossible to see amongst the blood and clots. What you are seeing may be part of a pregnancy, but is more likely just clots and uterine lining from an off-month cycle.

  • But I got this huge golf-ball sized clot I’ve never seen before. It had to be a baby.

Tissue that is like a ball is often what is called a corpus luteum cyst, and not a baby.

An extra long or extra short period can be caused when the shell that once housed the egg (called the corpus luteum) swells in size and throws off the hormone chain. This ball will come out in the period, leaving many women to believe they were pregnant, when actually they had a non-viable egg that month.
Without a positive pregnancy test, it is impossible to know for sure if you were pregnant. If you are actively trying to get pregnant, and have had several suspicious periods, then it is time to get tested for a luteal phase defect. You may indeed be losing babies due to low progesterone.

One way to possibly find out is get to the doctor immediately when you think you are pregnant but start bleeding heavily (do not wait, even a day or two) and have a quantitative hCG blood pregnancy test done. Any hCG in your system would show that you were at one point pregnant. Otherwise, unless your blood type is Rh negative, you should not need to worry about a lost pregnancy.

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Jul

1

Very Early Symptoms Of Pregnancy

Filed Under Symptoms of Pregnancy | 1 Comment

What are the clearest early pregnancy symptoms? Maybe it’s been a long road to conception and you want to know now!

Perhaps you’re not ready and feeling worried you are pregnant? Your body will give you many early signs of pregnancy.

This article explores 8 common symptoms, so you can read your body more easily.

1) Breast tenderness
This is often one of the most instantaneous indications you’re pregnant. Although similar to pre-menstrual soreness, many women find their breasts more painful, feeling heavier and simply more intense than usual. I certainly did!

My rather large mammaries felt like weighty tender melons within a week of conception. Plus they felt uncomfortable when hugging someone within two weeks of conception. My nipples gradually darkened too.

2) High temperature readings
If you have been charting your temperature to determine the day of ovulation, this is a simple way to know if you’re pregnant. If your temperature stays up for longer than 15 days after ovulation, you may well be pregnant. I’ve been charting temperature and vaginal mucus changes for years…

when I finally got pregnant, my temperature did a beautiful curve rise after ovulation and stayed up – text book perfect!

3) Positive pregnancy test
Most pregnancy tests may show a positive result on the first day of the missed period, but may show up as early as four days before that. The ‘you’re pregnant’ line may be very faint if you do have an early test. I’ve done more pregnancy tests than I can count, and it’s hard to be patient!

This time I couldn’t quite wait until my period was due, so took a test a couple of days before that. Initially there was only one ‘not pregnant’ line, so I thought it was negative again. I left it and came back in a while, only to find a faint positive result. In my case this was whooooppeeeee!

4)  Morning Sickness
Although not usually an extra early pregnancy symptom, some women start to feel ‘queasy’ as early as 2 weeks after conception. I think morning sickness should be renamed more appropriately ‘all-day sickness’, because each woman may experience different timing and intensity.

It’s been worst for me in the afternoons. 70% of pregnant women feel nauseous at some point, and usually symptoms fade by 16 weeks.

5)  Food aversions and cravings
These are common early signs of pregnancy, often kicking in at a similar time to the nausea. Just thinking about eating certain foods can make your stomach turn, while another current favorite may be all you can think of.

I regressed to childhood comfort foods; mashed potatoes and simple flavours. Fancy Asian flavours I’d usually enjoy were out. Some of my health food obsessions gave way to a more gentle approach; just giving my body what it asked for each day.

6)  Exhaustion
Within the first few weeks you may feel like getting through an ordinary day is like completing a triathlon. Take it as easy as possible. Being rested may also help reduce nausea. I like to have a power nap after lunch, and find I’m better equipped to cope with the rest of the day.

7)  Emotional rollercoaster rides
Sometimes no matter how well you’ve slept, how happy you are to be pregnant, how beautiful the weather is, your hormones play havoc with your mood. In the first trimester these emotional ‘crises’ can feel much more intense than normal ups and downs. They come out of no-where and make you feel like an irrational wet-rag. Some women get grumpy, some women get sad, sometimes both at the same time.

An understanding family or partner who recognize ‘It’s not you; it’s your hormones’ is helpful. There is a lot going on inside your body and hormones are the magic wand making it all happen.
I find myself crying about nothing I can explain, feeling vulnerable and insecure when usually I’ve got it all organized. Being pregnant can feel confusing!

8)  Just knowing
A common very early pregnancy symptom, (not very scientific this one), is just knowing that you are pregnant or that something feels different inside. Some mums-to-be even say they knew at conception that it was an extra special moment.

Remember, each woman will experience a different selection of these early pregnancy
Symptoms. It’s a unique journey and listening to your body/s messages is part of the fun.

Not all the symptoms are pleasant, but they are all part of this miracle of creation. If you do happen to be pregnant, celebrate and enjoy your body’s signs that something wonderful is unfolding inside you.

PS Getting pregnant came as a welcome ’surprise’ after almost 10 years of irregular periods, mixed up hormones and the fear I would never have kids. Roger and I even went through a year of the adoption process two years ago. Healing my body was a long story, one I’ll condense soon. Becoming more moderate in my approach to food helped a lot, but more on that another time…

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