An abortion is always bad news, but there are also different types of abortion and each one involves some situations. Delayed or withheld abortion occurs when the embryo has died but the woman has not removed the gestational sac and, therefore, the fetus is still inside. This remains there for weeks or even months, although it is usually detected within weeks in routine examinations. This type of abortion normally occurs in the first trimester, between weeks 8 and 12. Pregnancy symptoms gradually disappear and 10 days after fetal death the tests will be negative. It is a type of abortion that, as not all the remains have been expelled, requires a curettage so that no waste of the pregnancy remains in the uterus and thus there is no risk of infection. In this oneHOWTO article we explain the causes that cause a delayed abortion, as well as its symptoms and subsequent treatment.
Causes of deferred abortion
There are several causes that can cause a delayed abortion:
- Chromosomal or genetic causes: for example, it may be due to an abnormality in the chromosomes of the fetus that does not allow it to continue development. It can also be due to duplications or triplications of chromosomes or to various mutations.
- Infectious causes: in this case there may be an infection, either acute or chronic, in some part of the body or in the entire fetus.
- Autoimmune factors: There are many related causes that can lead to delayed abortion. For example, that the mother creates antibodies to the tissues of the embryo or that she suffers from antiphospholipid syndrome, a disease that causes blood clots and leads to an increased risk of miscarriage.
- Endocrine causes: such as an imbalance in prolactin, which will be insufficient to maintain progesterone levels in pregnancy and could lead to miscarriage.
Symptoms of a delayed abortion
This type of abortion is the most difficult to diagnose, since it does not present bleeding like the others and hardly any symptoms. Normally, when a miscarriage occurs the most common symptom is bleeding, which means the loss of the embryo. Nevertheless, in deferred abortion the fetus remains in the womb, so there will be no bleeding.
In fact, the woman who has this type of abortion will continue to have the symptoms of pregnancy such as nausea, vomiting, breast pain or colic for a while. However, these symptoms will gradually disappear.
The way to diagnose this type of abortion is through routine examination. The visit to the gynecologist it will be decisive in determining that an abortion has occurred. A fetus without a heartbeat or very underdeveloped may be detected.
Therefore, it is difficult for a pregnant woman to detect that she has had a delayed abortion.
Treatment after a deferred abortion
As soon as an abortion has been detected, it is important to take steps to proceed with clean the uterus and expelling the fetal tissue out of the pregnant woman’s body.
For this, it requires a curettage, a simple intervention that requires hospitalization. Using this technique, a scraping of the internal walls of the uterus is carried out to extract the gestational sac with the fetus, as well as any remains that may remain.
After curettage, it is normal to have pain and bleeding for a few days, but you can lead a normal life from the moment you feel well, even the next day. Of course, it is recommended not to use tampons or douches, as well as to wait at least 2 or 3 weeks to have sex again, since the curettage is very recent and the abortion too. The period after curettage for delayed abortion It will appear again after a week, although it may take a little longer, and ovulation will run its course so if you have sex and do not want to get pregnant again, you should use caution.
It is normal to feel depressed after a delayed abortion, but it does not mean that in the future all your pregnancies will be like this. In fact, many women who have suffered abortions (especially it is more common in first time) have had successful pregnancies later.
Pregnancy after a deferred abortion
As we have commented, a normal pregnancy after delayed abortionIn other words, having previously suffered from this problem, the following pregnancies do not have to be complicated or go wrong.
Still, many women wonder if they can get pregnant again right away or how long to wait and what are the chances of pregnancy after a delayed abortion. The truth is that the body needs to recover from abortion and curettage, so trying to get pregnant right away is not recommended.
If you want to get pregnant again after the deferred abortion, it is recommended wait at least 90 days and as long as menstruation has returned naturally. However, the exact time that must pass must be indicated the gynecologist who has carried out the follow-up.
This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
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