An inevitable miscarriage (or spontaneous miscarriage) is one where the miscarriage is imminent or is in the process of happening. An inevitable miscarriage may follow a threatened miscarriage (with small amounts of bleeding to start off with), or may happen suddenly with little pre-warning.
The signs of an inevitable miscarriage will usually depend on how far pregnant you are and if the miscarriage goes on to be 'complete' (needing no medical interventions), or is 'incomplete', where some of the baby or placenta are unable to be naturally expelled by the mother. An 'incomplete miscarriage' usually requires an operation to remove what remains of the pregnancy.
The physical signs and probable outcomes for an inevitable miscarriage will depend on how far the pregnancy has advanced. This can be generally divided up into miscarriages:
Up to 6 weeks
6 to 13 weeks
14 to 20 weeks
Up to 6 weeks. If the miscarriage is less than 6 weeks, the process of passing the baby can be similar to experiencing a very heavy period. Sometimes there will also be a few small blood clots (up to 1 to 2 cm in size) and possibly some mild cramping or period pain, although if the miscarriage is very early, it may just resemble a normal period. Miscarriages this early rarely need any type of medically intervention, unless the woman is more pregnant than she thinks she is. Sometimes very early miscarriages, with days of the period's due date, is referred to as a
'chemical pregnancy'.
What will I see? You are unlikely to be able to identify your baby in what you pass at this stage (which will be mainly blood and possibly some small blood clots). At 6 weeks the baby is about 0.5 to 1 cm long, or about the size of your little fingernail.
Emotions- It can be very upsetting to lose your baby after a positive pregnancy test. Most women bond with their baby very early, sometimes even before conception or the pregnancy is confirmed.