Rachel's Diaries: Chemical Pregnancies

Today I want to talk about Chemical Pregnancies.
Now, before I continue. I wanted to put this post out there because I know a few people that are trying to conceive and even though I'm pregnant at the moment, I want to still be able to reach out to those who aren't and maybe going through some tough times. It took me 6 long years to get to where I am and let me tell you, they were the hardest 6 years of my life.

So what is a chemical pregnancy I hear you ask??

Well, a chemical pregnancy is a very early miscarriage. It takes place before anything can be seen on an ultrasound scan, usually around the 5th week of being pregnant. It means that a sperm has fertilised your egg, but later on, the egg fails to survive.

For those ladies that have ever experienced a chemical pregnancy I bet you were wondering why did you get a positive pregnancy test?? Even in early pregnancy there is a change in hormone levels which allows the pregnancy test to turn positive. In a chemical pregnancy, or a very early miscarriage, the test is initially positive but then your period might start or another pregnancy test may give you a negative result.

The reason it is called a chemical pregnancy is that it's only the missed period and positive pregnancy test that show you are pregnant. It would be far to early to show up on an ultra sound scan. What are the signs and symptoms of a chemical pregnancy?? These vary between women, some don't have any of the signs or symptoms and others might experience:

Many women that don't take a pregnancy test never know they've had an early miscarriage and just assume any bleeding is their usual period. Are chemical pregnancies common?? You'll be quite shocked to know that yes, in fact they are. 50-60% of first pregnancies end like this but they go undetected, but don't let that put you off trying because if you've had one chemical pregnancy, it doesn't mean you'll have another.

Please don't you dare for minute think that there is something wrong with you because there isn't and that doesn't mean you wont go on to have any more healthy pregnancies.

I know it's always heart breaking when AF arrives or any pregnancy ends in miscarriage but don't be discouraged and there is no length of time to wait to TTC again. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to prevent a chemical pregnancy. The embryo just wasn't developed enough, or quite simply it just wasn't the right time.