First Trimester Pregnancy – Miscarriage

Transcript

“Sadly miscarriages are very common, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. So statistics are off on this, because not everyone reports when they have a miscarriage, so we don’t necessarily have accurate numbers, but some stats indicate that 30 and up to 50% of pregnancies are lost. Now very often when a pregnancy is lost, it’s because there was some abnormality in the developing embryo and it was never intended to become a baby. So you can imagine the miracle involved in bringing a sperm and an egg together and making another human being and a lot can go wrong with that. Now a lot can go right. And it is truly a miracle when things go right. But if things start to go wrong early on, then that pregnancy just won’t continue. Now that doesn’t mean that it’s not a significant event if you’re having or have had a miscarriage and it is a loss for you.

And just because it’s a common experience, doesn’t mean that you’re not going through the phases of grieving, and you’re not having a lot of sadness associated with all of the hopes and the dreams that you had for that pregnancy and for that baby. So I want to be both reassuring that miscarriages are common and losing a pregnancy doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant again. In fact, it’s good news that everything worked right in order for you to get pregnant. And so use that information and be reassured by that. And I also, on the other hand, want to acknowledge the pain and the loss and the grief that goes along with having had a miscarriage and making sure that, you know, to reach out to your partner, to your healthcare provider, to your friends, and to really try to give yourself the space and the time that you need to heal from that significant loss in your life.”