Why Does Chemical Pregnancy Happen?
Starting your period a week after a positive pregnancy test may be puzzling and worrying, but it happens much more frequently than you might imagine. You might have gone through a phenomenon called a chemical pregnancy.
Numerous women who have a chemical pregnancy are completely unaware that they are pregnant. However, having a chemical pregnancy does not necessarily mean that you have a health issue or that you won't one day give birth to a healthy child. You can learn more about a chemical pregnancy i.e. a very early pregnancy loss in this article.
What is a Chemical Pregnancy?
When an egg is fertilized, implants in the uterus, but is not able to develop normally, it is known as a chemical pregnancy and results in an exceptionally premature loss of pregnancy. It typically happens between weeks four to five of your menstrual cycle.
Around three weeks following the first day of your last menstrual cycle, a fertilized egg implants in the uterine wall to form a baby during pregnancy. By the time of your expected period, the cells that would develop into the placenta begin to generate levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG that are high enough to be detected on a blood or urine test.
Due to chemical pregnancy, this implantation does not improve, and the cells don’t grow into an embryo and placenta. It leads to bleeding some days to a week after your standard period was due.
Chemical gestations are quite common. In fact, professionals actually acknowledge this very early pregnancy failure might account for up to 50 % of all conceptions.
Usually, the only indication of a chemical incubation is a late period. You’ll only understand if you had a pregnancy failure if you occurred to take an early pregnancy examination soon after conception.
Symptoms of a Chemical Pregnancy
Numerous women don’t recognize they've had a chemical pregnancy. Signs that indicate you may have had a chemical pregnancy are:
- An earlier positive pregnancy test outcome followed by your period multiple weeks later
- A tardily period
Difference Between Implantation Bleeding and Chemical Pregnancy
Light spotting or bleeding after a positive pregnancy examination doesn't always indicate you’re having a chemical pregnancy. Some females encounter light implantation bleeding, which is an indication that you they are expectant.
Contrarily, severe bleeding and cramping similar to menstruation during pregnancy may portend an impending early loss. In either case, the experts advise contacting your doctor if you suffer any bleeding following a positive pregnancy test.
What Renders a Chemical Pregnancy?
Multiple early pregnancy losses, including chemical gestations, are driven by chromosomal anomalies. At the beginning of a pregnancy, an egg and a sperm merge 23 chromosomes from each partner to create a zygote with 46 chromosomes.
The zygote starts to evolve via quick cell division, develops into a blastocyst, and implants in the uterine wall. Further, in a chemical pregnancy:
- A sperm or an egg has numerous chromosomes or is not adequate.
- After conception, the resultant zygote also has an uncommon count of chromosomes.
- This chromosomal anomaly induces errors that make it so that the embryo can’t grow naturally.
Chromosomal anomalies appear randomly and can happen to anyone. Nevertheless, the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities improves greatly with age. Chemical gestations definitely don’t suggest you won’t be capable to get expectant and remain pregnant in the future.
Risk Factors of Chemical Pregnancy
Multiple risk factors can cause an increased risk of early pregnancy failure. These include:
- Being 35 or more aged
- Uncured clotting ailments
- Untreated thyroid illnesses
- Other medical disorders, such as high diabetes
Chemical Pregnancy and IVF
Chemical pregnancies are also a prospect if you’ve undergone an in vitro fertilization (IVF). And even they can happen quite repeatedly after IVF or another fertility treatment. Thoughthe good news is that an earlier pregnancy failure like this one can indicate a greater likelihood of conceiving in future IVF cycles as compared with females who have only adverse pregnancy examinations.
While encountering a chemical pregnancy after experiencing infertility therapy is definitely discouraging and might even prompt you to stop IVF tries altogether, the science is on your side.
You must speak with your physician about your odds of conception and whether another round of IVF is recommended. Although chemical pregnancies are not more common with fertility treatments, they are more frequently recognized in this scenario because individuals using fertility treatments frequently take numerous early pregnancy tests.
Attempting to get Pregnant Again After a Chemical Pregnancy
Even though very early pregnancy losses typically don't need medical attention, you should still see your doctor if you think you may have. Depending on how recently you noticed the bleeding, they might be able to determine if a chemical pregnancy occurred.
Make sure to see your physician if you’ve detected that you tend to have an inconsistent period or a cycle that’s over 35 days extended. Your doctor might want to examine conditions that concern anovulation, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can make it more challenging for you to get expectant.
They might refer you to a fertility specialist in the following conditions:
- You and your spouse are under 35, have no learned fertility problems, and have been vigorously attempting to conceive for the previous 12 months
- You’re more than the age of 35 and have been attempting to conceive for six months
- You’re more than the age of 38 and have been endeavoring to get expectant for three months
- You’re more than the age of 40 or have a private or family record of infertility
It can be distressing to experience one or two chemical pregnancies, but this is not causing for concern. Most medical conditions that may be causing your chemical pregnancies can be treated, allowing you to eventually conceive a healthy child. That implies that you can begin trying again as soon as you feel prepared.
Prevention of Chemical Pregnancy
There is nothing specifically that can be done to avoid miscarriages because the majority occur as a result of chromosomal defects that arise at random. However, one of the best ways to ensure a successful pregnancy is to keep a healthy lifestyle. Before getting pregnant, keeping an eye on your health and getting ready can assist a successful pregnancy. The following actions will help you maintain strong pre-pregnancy health:
- Everyday exercise
- A nutritious diet
- Stress handling
- Having a healthy weight
- Consuming iron-rich food and taking folic acid daily
- Bypassing smoking and alcohol
- Сontrolling and operating existing medical disorders like diabetes, thyroid problems, and blood disorders
Conclusion
Your body is still capable of having a healthy pregnancy even if you experience a chemical pregnancy. You might be able to get the right care if you discover the causes of an early pregnancy miscarriage. This can address the root issue.
You should discuss your alternatives with your doctor during a conversation. Additionally, your doctor can give you information about counseling or support groups. If you require emotional assistance following a miscarriage, these can be crucial.
Moreover, for more information on pregnancy and miscarriage-related difficulties and to receive prompt medical treatment, get in touch with Antenate to chat with our gynecologist and fertility specialist, Dr. Shesha Sinha.
