What exactly IS a chemical pregnancy?

[chandy]

Hello all. I know that people have posted about chemical pregnancies before... because their beta numbers were too low. But is it a miscarriage? Did the embie actually implant, but then not thrive and continue to grow? I'm just trying to better understand this term.

Thanks,
Chandy

[marya]

A chemical pgcy is one where the only evidence of pgcy is the presence of HCG. In otherwords your body recognized an embryo and started producing HCG but embryonic development stopped prior to producing a sac that could be visable on u/s. It may or may not have implanted, but if implantation occurred it didn't go far.

Not that you asked, but the next stage is a blighted ovum, which is where a sac is visable and may even grow, but no embryo/fetal pole develops. After that would be the medical definition of a miscarriage, loss after seeing a heartbeat. In normal, day to day, usage most people consider a miscarriage anything after a positive HPT or beta.

[SomedayMommy]

Brilliantly said by Marya!

[PGDMommy2be]

Chandy,

Here is some info I found on the subject of miscarriage.
I just had a "chemical pregnancy" a few weeks ago
from my 1st FET.
I was told my my RE : One of the embryos implanted
and my body started producing HCG, But shortly after
it failed to continue on as it should have. Yes it is a pregnancy,
I have 2 + hpt's from my chemical, I can say from someone
who has had 2 other miscarriages, @ 13 & 11wks, The later
losses were a lot harder to deal with, But any loss is still heartbreaking.

Miscarriage
Miscarriage: Definition
Miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy after conception and implantation has occurred.

Miscarriages can be classified in a number of different ways. The most commonly used system involve how the pregnancy was verified before the loss was identified.


Biochemical pregnancy; Biochemical miscarriage, Chemical pregnancy, Early miscarriage
This is a miscarriage that occurs after a positive pregnancy test but before a pregnancy could be seen on ultrasound.


Clinical miscarriage, Clinical pregnancy
A miscarriage that occurs after or at the same time that it is seen on ultrasound. This is a very broad group. Some very early pregnancies can be detected by sensitive ultrasounds. There are four subcategories of clinical miscarriage that depend on what features were seen on the ultrasound:


Gestational sac only

Gestational sac and yolk sac

A fetus is seen

A fetus is seen with a heartbeat


Missed miscarriage, Missed abortion
A missed miscarriage is determined when an ultrasound shows a pregnancy is nonviable and the measurements or features suggest that it occurred a period of time before the ultrasound. For example, an obstetrician is unable to hear the fetal heart beat at 12 weeks gestation. An ultrasound is performed and the fetus is measured but it corresponds to an 8 week gestation.


Threatened miscarriage, Threatened abortion
Any bleeding that occurs in the first twenty weeks of pregnancy is defined as a threatened miscarriage. Approximately 1/2 of these pregnancies will go on to miscarry. However, if ultrasound has previously shown a fetus with a heartbeat a much smaller percentage (1-5% depending on the age of the female) will miscarry.


Incomplete miscarriage, incomplete abortion
A miscarriage that is in progress. Some of the fetal or placental tissue has passed but not all of it. Generally, the cervix is dilated.


Completed miscarriage, completed abortion
A miscarriage in which all of the fetal or placental tissue has passed.

Learn more about miscarriage

Miscarriage Signs and Symptoms
Miscarriage Signs; Miscarriage Symptoms

Miscarriage Early Signs and Early Symptoms
Miscarriage Early Signs; Miscarriage Early Symptoms

Miscarriage Causes
Miscarriage causes


Pregnancy after miscarriage Pregnant after miscarriage
Miscarriage recurrent Miscarriage multiple