What is a miscarriage?
A miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion, is an event that results in the loss of a fetus before 20 weeks of pregnancy. It typically happens during the first trimester, or first three months, of the pregnancy.
Miscarriages can happen for a variety of medical reasons, many of which aren’t within a person’s control. But knowing the risk factors, signs, and causes can help you to better understand the event and get any support or treatment you may need.
Miscarriage signs
The symptoms of a miscarriage vary, depending on your stage of pregnancy. In some cases, it happens so quickly that you may not even know you’re pregnant before you miscarry.
Here are some of the symptoms of a miscarriage:
- heavy spotting
- vaginal bleeding
- discharge of tissue or fluid from your vagina
- severe abdominal pain or cramping
- mild to severe back pain
Call your doctor right away if you experience any of these symptoms during your pregnancy. It’s also possible to have these symptoms without experiencing a miscarriage. But your doctor will want to conduct tests to make sure that everything is fine.
