Women know the day their menstruation will drop, perhaps due to symptoms prior to arrival or because they are looking for a baby; counting from the first day of menstruation, twelve to sixteen days later ovulation will begin where you must have intercourse for the sperm to reach the egg.
However, this is not always the case, because you do not always have control of the arrival date, and less if you are irregular, then you have unprotected relationships but without the intention of looking for a baby and that is when you notice the absence of the rule the following month, a day late, two, up to five and you can’t bear the uncertainty, you go for a pharmacy pregnancy test and it comes back positive.
A positive for the mother who was anxiously looking for her pregnancy and a positive for the mother who is not ready; But both are unaware that not everything is in simply getting the sperm to fertilize the egg; rather, it is implanted in the uterus. If this does not happen; six weeks later they will bleed and will then have what is known as a chemical pregnancy which you will learn about below:
Index
What is chemical pregnancy?
This chemical pregnancy occurs when, after taking a home pregnancy test, it results in a positive result, but after a maximum of six weeks an early miscarriage occurs , because it occurs before the egg reaches implantation. A more in-depth blood test or ultrasound will tell you for sure if your pregnancy is normal or chemical.
What are the Causes of chemical pregnancy?
The causes could be a vaginal infection , drugs, alcohol and cigarettes; abnormalities in the chromosomes that carry the genes of the fertilized egg, or hormonal problems, could also lead to a chemical pregnancy. It could also be due to genetic defects and uterine abnormalities such as fibroids.
Signs and symptoms of chemical pregnancy
The signs and symptoms may be the same as a normal pregnancy; You will mainly have a delay in your menstruation, followed (but not in all women), dizziness and nausea or vomiting. Although if you did not perform the home test, perhaps after six weeks you would think that the bleeding is your normal menstruation and that the discomforts were due to a virus, so it is not easy to determine the most precise symptoms of a chemical pregnancy.
If you take the corresponding blood test and you get low hCG levels, it is possible that you have had a chemical pregnancy, then you will feel cramps in your belly and later bleeding more abundant than that of your menstruation.
Characteristics of chemical pregnancy
It is characterized because:
- Only a chemical test gives a positive result
- After six weeks the ovum fails to implant
- Through an HCG test : if the value is low, chemical pregnancy is diagnosed
- Posterior bleeding.
- Ultrasound does not confirm pregnancy because there is no embryo.
- The loss occurs early.
Chemical Pregnancy Treatments
As it is an “early” miscarriage, it is most likely that you do not need any medical treatment because your body will expel all the fetal tissue, however it is necessary that you closely monitor if the bleeding increases or if you get a fever; in that case if you should go to the doctor.
Duration of chemical pregnancy
When the fertilization of the sperm occurs in the egg, it takes five or six weeks to detach since it can not be implanted .
Pregnancy after a chemical abortion
Since the causes of a chemical abortion are generally temporary, there is no risk of getting pregnant again. It does not mean that your body will be ready immediately but since your ovulation will not be affected nor will your uterus; you will be ready for the next month; if you wish; But if you are psychologically affected because you longed for the baby and you linked to this positive then I recommend you wait a bit until you get over this early miscarriage.
Recurrent chemical pregnancy
If on your second attempt you return a positive test with the home test, immediately take the beta HCG blood test , if the value is low it could be a repeat chemical pregnancy and you should see your doctor to try to carry out the implantation before it is too late.
When a recurrent chemical pregnancy occurs, the causes could be: immunological, genetic in origin, uterine anatomical alterations and the unlikely ones such as infectious and autoimmune causes.
Chemical pregnancy and menstruation
Chemical pregnancy will not alter your menstrual cycle , if you are regular it will last 21 days and 35 days counting from the first day, but it could vary between 25 days 27, or 32, however this does not affect your menstrual regularity.
You should pay attention if it lasts more than seven days and consult your doctor, and if you are irregular, also talk to your gynecologist if you are planning to become a mother in order to avoid chemical pregnancy.
What Happens After Chemical Pregnancy?
After the chemical pregnancy, bleeding will begin similar to your menstruation but perhaps somewhat thicker and could last a few more days.
If you longed to have your baby, you will experience sadness that is usually overcome in a short time because you will be able to stay in condition the following month if you propose to do so. If after the chemical pregnancy you feel cramps, or fever, you should see a doctor.
Chemical pregnancy and insemination
It is believed that artificial insemination has a high probability of being a chemical pregnancy because the eggs used are generally frozen, and do not implant; but if they are used fresh, the percentage of getting pregnant is much more favorable.
When the sperm attaches to the egg, they wait a few days to perform the blood test that is more accurate than the home chemical test, this will determine if it has implanted in the uterus after a month.
Chemical or ectopic pregnancy?
The chemical pregnancy as it has been said is when the early miscarriage occurs, due to the fact that the fertilized egg fails to implant; on the other hand, the ectopic pregnancy implantation is achieved but outside the uterine cavity, like the chemical pregnancy, it does not implant in the uterus, but the difference is that if it does it in a different tissue; mostly in the fallopian tube .
The causes of ectopic pregnancy are various and among them are: congenital tubal defects, smoking, tubal ligation that atrophies them, if you are over 35 years old, if you use the intrauterine device IUD. This ectopic pregnancy brings worse consequences than the chemical pregnancy since if the body does not reject it by itself, surgery must be performed before the embryo breaks the fallopian tube, which will cause internal bleeding that would cause serious consequences, including the death of the patient .
Progesterone in chemical pregnancy
The female sex hormone produced by the ovaries and then the placenta is released during the menstrual cycle to condition the endometrium and prepare it for implantation of the embryo; and that everything goes smoothly and safely during pregnancy. All of this is done by progesterone, and this is how it would help a chemical pregnancy achieve implantation if it is determined in time before the sacred occurs.
When ovulation begins , progesterone makes the endometrium secrete special proteins to nourish the ovule that is fertilized, thus the development of the embryo will take place in a more optimal way, after approximately ten weeks the placenta will be in charge of the production of progesterone.
The normal process of women is the one described above, however when cases such as chemical pregnancy occur there is artificial progesterone ; to try to strengthen the fertilized egg and thus achieve that it is implanted. It can be done by injection; vaginal gels, vaginal suppositories, or tablets.
For more information see our article on Natural progesterone: Increase it, Contraindications and Benefits
Chemical pregnancy and fertility
Fertility is not affected because no hormonal alteration occurs beyond the elevation of B-HCG that does not become so high to confirm a normal pregnancy, and when the uterus begins to shed the endometrium, similar to that of the menstruation that may reassure you if you do not want to have a baby yet, if you do not take the home chemical test, you will most likely never find out that your bleeding is due to an early miscarriage.
Your ovulation will reestablish in the fifth week after having the chemical abortion, however, do not stop consulting with your gynecologist if the following month your regular period does not drop.
Chemical pregnancy with high beta and low beta
When a fertilized egg succeeds in implanting; the beta HCG levels reach a high value, but if it stops its development; the first test will give a value below 25 mIU / ml, that way a chemical abortion would be suspected.
After a few days, the test should be repeated to verify it, because if the abortion decreases it would lead to bleeding at any time but if it rises a little, other tests are carried out and progesterone is even injected to try to nourish the embryo and that achieve its implantation, so that the gestation continues its rhythm.
Pharmacy chemical tests have different reference values to give a positive; from 5 mIU / ml, in others from 25 mIU / ml and others from 50 mIU / ml upwards. That is why it is necessary to check the “positive” with a blood test.
Among the high values that the blood test shows, the mother’s gestation time can be determined:
- from 3 to 4 weeks of pregnancy it will have a value of 9 – 130 mIU / ml;
- of 4 to 5 weeks of pregnancy from 75 to 2,600 mIU / ml;
- from 6 to 7 weeks of pregnancy 4000-100200 mIU / ml;
- from 7 to 12 weeks of pregnancy a value of 11,500 – 289,000 mIU / ml;
- from 12-16 weeks of pregnancy a value of 18300-137000 mIU / ml;
- from the second trimester : 1400-53000 mIU / ml
- and in the third trimester: 940-60,000 mIU / ml.
In multiple pregnancies hCG levels are about 30-50% higher.
If you are interested in this topic, you should visit the following article Spontaneous Abortions: Causes, Symptoms, Types and Possible Treatments
Kathie Sand always saw the world of beauty as the terrain on which to build her professional career, a goal that was clear to her when she was only 15 years old. Her great concern to expand knowledge led her to settle in Paris where she studied hand in hand with the best beauty professionals and with the most advanced techniques for skin care.