Biochemical pregnancy: how to recognize and cope with an early miscarriage
By the term biochemical pregnancy we mean a pregnancy visible only from a positive result of chemical analyzes and absent from an ultrasound point of view.
In fact, biochemical pregnancy is a type of spontaneous abortion that occurs a few weeks after conception. A fast and early abortion with a fetus that does not exceed the fifth week, so early that very often the woman does not even know she was pregnant and confuses this event with a banal delay in the menstrual cycle. The only way to diagnose biochemical pregnancies is always the analysis of beta-hCG, a hormone that increases in the female body in the first period after conception.
Even home pregnancy tests always recognize this hormone and give a quick and reliable response in case of a positive result from the first week of delay.
Biochemical pregnancy: what it consists of
This type of pregnancy, also called microabortion or biochemical abortion, is an early spontaneous abortion that occurs very quickly, from the fifth week of a woman's gestation. So early that it often happens that the woman not taking a test and having not had a positive result does not realize anything and mistake the phenomenon for a delay in the menstrual cycle.
During a biochemical pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants itself in the wall of the uterus but then fails to grow: gestation stops early around the fourth or fifth week and consequently a new menstrual cycle occurs as a response. The pregnancy test is able to immediately detect the increased levels of beta -hCG (chorionic gonadotropin), but at the same time the ultrasound examination does not reveal the presence of the embryo. On a physical level, the microabortion occurring in the fourth week does not cause the woman significant problems of the uterus but involves psychological repercussions and certainly many questions. Read on to find out the causes of biochemical pregnancies!
What symptoms does my body feel
Biochemical pregnancy is an early miscarriage with no particular symptoms. Sometimes the woman may have symptoms similar to those of a few weeks' pregnancy, other times she may not have any at all. The absence of relevant symptoms is one of the reasons why this early abortion is almost always confused with a delay in the menstrual cycle. There are also times when the woman experiences symptoms such as mood changes, fatigue, tension and irritability: a symptomatology that in this specific case suggests more of a period of stress than a spontaneous interruption of pregnancy. Other symptoms that occur during a biochemical pregnancy are a more abundant menstrual flow (which however can be mistaken for a menstrual cycle) accompanied by back pain, belly pain and uterine contractions. It is much easier to realize what is happening to your body if the couple is following a fertility program because in this case the pregnancy is followed from the first day of the positive implantation of the embryo and it is easy to understand, right away, if an abortion is occurring.
From the positive result to the abortion
As soon as the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterine cavity, the levels of beta hCG gradually increase and then stabilize after the tenth week of conception. The presence in significant quantities of this hormone, chorionic gonadotropin, can be detected with any pregnancy test of those purchased at a pharmacy or supermarket and of course with a blood test.
The urine on the stick immediately shows the increased indices of beta hCG, thanks to a chemical reaction that highlights the positive. This also explains the name "biochemical pregnancy": the test will always give a positive result with a chemical examination, but at the examination ultrasound, neither the embryo nor the gestational sac will be visible.
This beta hCG is therefore able to ensure that it really is a biochemical pregnancy and not a simple delay. Discovering that it is an abortion, even if after a few days, always creates a sense of deep despair in the woman. In these cases it is important to choose psychological support to deal with the situation and, if desired, to try to have a baby again when the hormonal change faced by the female body has stabilized.
Can I try to get pregnant again?
In case you have faced a biochemical pregnancy, reassure yourself because it is always possible to try again: this type of early pregnancy termination does not harm or limit your possibility of becoming a mother. If you like the idea of having a child and maybe you've been trying for a while, undergoing a biochemical pregnancy can be very frustrating. Women who want a baby feel discouraged at the time of an abortion and often wonder when they can try to get pregnant again.
In reality, there is no rule, however, even if you may not like the idea, it would be better to wait for the hormonal upheaval caused by this early pregnancy to settle.
Like any type of abortion, even with biochemical pregnancy, it is better to wait for the next menstruation to return to try to get pregnant again (if possible, even a couple of months).
A few more weeks will allow you to feel better!
Obviously, waiting times are different for women and women and are often also linked to the emotional state and the individual ability to deal with the situation. However, the ideal is to discuss with your gynecologist, and evaluate together both the state of health and the need for psychological support.
A woman's fertility is linked to a multitude of factors and can also be facilitated by some foods: find out what you like and is good for you!
What happens to my body
Given the precocity of the phenomenon, unlike other types of abortion, in the event of a biochemical pregnancy nothing has to be done. No surgery, abortive drugs or scrapings are necessary: everything resolves spontaneously within a week.The blood loss that the woman has had reveals the abortion: they will then behave like a normal menstrual cycle (they will last 4 or 5 days). A little delay in the arrival of the next menstruation is normal. The next cycle could come about 40 days after the biochemical abortion: there is no need to be alarmed! After having had a positive test result and therefore the certainty of a biochemical abortion it is advisable to monitor the beta hCG levels also in the following weeks and make sure that these actually fall, since if the beta hCG value remained stable for another week and ultrasound does not detect any embryos in the uterus, the doctor will prescribe further and in-depth tests to avoid the risk of an ectopic pregnancy for the woman.
My case: why me?
Every woman who faces a biochemical pregnancy first then wonders if she had any fault and above all why it happened to her. It is good to clarify: given the rapidity with which gestation is interrupted and the natural way in which everything ends, it is not possible to understand in detail the triggering causes nor to give an answer to everyone because with which we find ourselves having to deal. However, we always like to think (and it makes it less painful) that pregnancy is interrupted so quickly due to genetic problems of the man or woman, due to incompatibility of genes or due to characteristics and problems that have prevented the growth of the fetus, actually causing the early abortion. As with all other abortions, the reasons that can cause pregnancy to stop naturally are always many and different: from genetic anomalies to alterations of the embryo, from uterine malformations to ongoing infections, even high levels of stress or habits of unhealthy life of the woman such as alcohol abuse or smoking.
