2008 Woodie Awards
The truth about miscarriages
Melissa Kurland
Issue date: 10/3/06 Section: Life
Having a baby should be one of the most amazing experiences that will happen in your life. From the moment you go to the store to pick up a pregnancy test to the day of delivery can be the most exciting, nerve-racking, intense happenings a person can have. You start thinking of names for your unborn child, go to the Babies-R-Us store to start picking out clothes, accessories, furniture, and start planning which schools your child will attend and which room in the house will be theirs.
Unfortunately, however, no matter how prepared or healthy you may be, one of the things that you most likely cannot predict or plan on is a potential miscarriage. All of a sudden this once joyous occasion becomes a crushing heartache. Miscarriages, a.k.a. spontaneous abortions, are "a devastating experience that has been largely ignored in our society," stated in the book Human Sexuality (written by authors Bryan Strong, Christine DeVault, Barbara W. Sayad, and William L. Yarber). Out of all the things we learn about in school, sex education classes, and at home, miscarriage is one of the things that a majority of us don't know much about unless it has happened to us or someone we know.
Sure, you know it's when a woman incurs a pregnancy loss. But do you know what a miscarriage looks like? What the woman's body experiences during a miscarriage? Or what the potential causes are? One of the least known facts about miscarriages is that majority of them happen before the woman even knows she's pregnant. In addition, it can often be mistaken for a period.
Miscarriage is understandably a sensitive topic. If, however, we remain in the dark about the facts, possible causes, and how to handle this situation, many women will continue having pregnancies without ever knowing it.
"It is possible that as many as 50% of pregnancies miscarry before implantation in the womb occurs," according to the website www.womens-health.co/uk, run by Danny Tucker, a doctor specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Oxford. "Early after implantation, pregnancy loss rate is about 30%. (I.e. this is still before a pregnancy is clinically recognized.) After a pregnancy may be clinically recognized (between days 35-50), about 25% will end in miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage decreases dramatically after the 8th week as the weeks go by."
Unfortunately, however, no matter how prepared or healthy you may be, one of the things that you most likely cannot predict or plan on is a potential miscarriage. All of a sudden this once joyous occasion becomes a crushing heartache. Miscarriages, a.k.a. spontaneous abortions, are "a devastating experience that has been largely ignored in our society," stated in the book Human Sexuality (written by authors Bryan Strong, Christine DeVault, Barbara W. Sayad, and William L. Yarber). Out of all the things we learn about in school, sex education classes, and at home, miscarriage is one of the things that a majority of us don't know much about unless it has happened to us or someone we know.
Sure, you know it's when a woman incurs a pregnancy loss. But do you know what a miscarriage looks like? What the woman's body experiences during a miscarriage? Or what the potential causes are? One of the least known facts about miscarriages is that majority of them happen before the woman even knows she's pregnant. In addition, it can often be mistaken for a period.
Miscarriage is understandably a sensitive topic. If, however, we remain in the dark about the facts, possible causes, and how to handle this situation, many women will continue having pregnancies without ever knowing it.
"It is possible that as many as 50% of pregnancies miscarry before implantation in the womb occurs," according to the website www.womens-health.co/uk, run by Danny Tucker, a doctor specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Oxford. "Early after implantation, pregnancy loss rate is about 30%. (I.e. this is still before a pregnancy is clinically recognized.) After a pregnancy may be clinically recognized (between days 35-50), about 25% will end in miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage decreases dramatically after the 8th week as the weeks go by."
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