Chemical Pregnancy - Gender Selection
What is it? A "chemical pregnancy" is another word for "early miscarriage" or "spontaneous abortion". It's a pregnancy that was confirmed by a pregnancy test, but an ultrasound shows nothing. The pregnancy test is often barely positive, or blood hCg levels are very low and don't increase as they should. It is likely that fertilization occurs, but the egg dies shortly after implantation. These days, a woman can test positive for pregnancy as early as 1-2 days before a menstrual period is missed, usually 11 or 12 days after conception. Without having tested, most women would never have known that they were briefly pregnant. Most people are not aware of just how common chemical pregnancies are: it is likely that 30-40% of all pregnancies end up in a chemical pregnancy, and without testing (such as is constantly being done by women who are actively trying to conceive!), most women would never even know about it, possibly getting their period a few days late or maybe experiencing a slightly heavier flow than normal. If the pregnancy develops several more weeks into a sac but without an embryo, then it's called a "blighted ovum".
There are several different reasons why a chemical pregnancy may have occurred, and sometimes the reason is just not discoverable. Some reasons include low progesterone; uterine lining is not thick enough to support the implanted egg (which may indicate low estrogen); chromosomal (genetic) abnormalities with the sperm or the egg; immune issues ( inciid.org for more information on this); possible obstructions in the uterus (for example, fibroid tumors); infections and diseases (many bacterial and viral infections can contribute to a miscarriage, including viral infections such the cytomegalic virus, bacterial infections such as chlamydia, mycoplasma, ureaplasma and streptococcus, or in rare cases, parasitic infection such as toxoplasmosis; disease, such as undiagnosed diabetes, can also cause a miscarriage); age of the mother – approximately 50% of all pregnancies over the age of 40 end in early miscarriage; exposure to environmental toxins (such as certain metals); stress; chronic illnesses (examples include thyroid abnormalities – either overactive or underactive, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, or intrauterine adhesions (most commonly caused by previous infections or D&C's)). High dose x-rays and chemotherapy are known toxins that can cause pregnancy loss; working with chemicals long-term such as with dyes, metals, solvents or chemical production plants; maternal stresses; and heavy use of tobacco, caffeine, alcohol and drugs can also contribute to chemical pregnancies/early miscarriages.
If one continues to experience repeated chemical pregnancies, you might want to your doctor to determine the cause and handling.
What can you do about it? Occasionally, not all of the material is fully expelled, and a D&C is required. This is not usually the case, however. Your doctor can tell you whether a D&C would be required.
Other than that, go and have that cup of coffee you were avoiding while you were waiting to if you were pregnant, or a nice, big banana split, and then get back to trying to conceive!!!
