Early pregnancy loss

The loss of pregnancy before 20 weeks is called early pregnancy loss. There are two types of early pregnancy loss: miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

Miscarriage

The most common early pregnancy loss is miscarriage. This is the spontaneous loss of your baby before it can survive outside of your uterus. Sometimes, health care providers refer to this as "spontaneous abortion." This doesn't mean that you did anything to end the pregnancy -- it's just a medical way of referring to a miscarriage.

Miscarriages occur in about 15 to 20 percent of all pregnancies, usually during the first trimester. The exact cause is usually not known, but often it means something was wrong with your baby's development, and survival would have been impossible. Most of these abnormalities happen by chance and are not likely to occur again in your next pregnancy.

You certainly do not cause a miscarriage. In early pregnancy, your baby is very well protected. It is unlikely that any injury to you would harm your baby.

Miscarriages in early pregnancy are not caused by:

• exercising, working, having sex, morning sickness, or using birth control pills before you got pregnant
• a fall, a blow or a fright
• stress or worry
• wondering whether or not you wanted the baby

Miscarriages often happen a few weeks after your baby has actually died.

Ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy occurs less often than miscarriage. The fertilized egg doesn't reach the uterus and begins to grow in your Fallopian tube, where it cannot develop normally. About one in 60 pregnancies is ectopic. Because your Fallopian tube is so narrow, your baby and placenta can only grow to about the size of a walnut (about 3 months into the pregnancy) before the tube bursts. This can cause serious abdominal bleeding or even death, so it must be treated right away.

You are at higher risk for an ectopic pregnancy if your Fallopian tubes are scarred from pelvic inflammatory disease, a previous ectopic pregnancy, or endometriosis.

Related Links

Pregnancy loss: Support groups

Infant/Child Loss Services

Pregnancy loss

Allina Grief Resources

First published: 10/04/2002
Last updated: 06/19/2003

Reviewed by: Allina Patient Education experts