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| My story of miscarriage (Blighted Ovum) Warning: Some people may say this contains "Too much Infomation" so if Details bother you, then maybe you should not read this. I have already been blessed with 4 healthy children; David, Amanda, Sarah & Ryan. I also had a full-term stillborn, Dylan, almost 6 years ago (my 4th child) . A few years after I had my 5th child, I decided I'm done with having children. We did not plan on having anymore. But I unexpectedly got pregnant. At first I thought "uh-oh". But then I began to look forward to having this child. I had my 1st pre-natal visit on Sept. 17th, 2007. I was 9 weeks. However, I was very concerned about some things, my thyroid being the main thing. After the birth of my 5th child, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. I was on medication for 1 year and 9 months. Since I did not have insurance, I could only go to the Health dept and ever since they changed their system, it became too difficult to get an appointment. So I gave up and decided to try some natural alternatives to help my thyroid. I always prefer natural alternatives over medicine. Coconut oil did seem to help, but I got too burned out on taking so much of it everyday. I also tried other things, which may have helped, but it wasn't enough. I told the midwife of my thyroid problem and asked for a blood test to see if I need to go back on medication, which I highly suspected.. I have read that untreated Hypothyroidism can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or mental retardation. This was very frightening to me. I did not want anything to happen with my baby. So when my level came back as TSH level of 8, that was not good. I went on medication immediately (Armour thyroid, as I requested.). I was also told that I had a urinary infection, so I was also put on anti-biotics. I was also a bit concerned that I felt that I did not feel as pregnant as I did at first, but that didn't seem to be a concern to her.. I had morning sickness off and on, for a week or two, but it wasn't a lot. That did not last long, and went away. This was pregnancy number 6, and with me I get less sick with each pregnancy. So I didn't think much of that. My breasts were very sore in the beginning, but by then, they were not as bad. I just felt like I was "not as pregnant" as I used to feel previously. I was very tired, but somewhere around that point, I started regaining a little bit of energy on some days. I was hoping to hear the heartbeat at that visit to help ease my mind, but she said it was too early. With my previous 5 babies, I always got to hear the heartbeat around 6-8 weeks, so I was a bit confused. Another thing that bothered me about this visit, I remember the nurse practitioner saying to the midwife that my uterus was "pear or plum" (I guess referring to size). I was thinking "hmm, shouldn't it be bigger than that for 9 weeks?" I am wondering now if they suspected something at that time, but did not want to worry me. Well, 2 weeks later after this visit.....on Oct. 2, 2007, the day started normal. But I wasn't feeling too well, I thought it was just stomach discomfort, but did not feel "right". I felt like I do when it's time to get my period.. I got tired in the late morning, so I laid down to take a nap. When I woke up around Noon, I went to the bathroom and when I wiped, there was discharge with blood in it. (Sorry if it's too much detail). This worried me, so I called the dr. office, but I guess it was lunch time and nobody picked up. I did not consider it an emergency at that point, so I decided to just wait and see what happens. Well around 2 PM, I went to the bathroom again, and I noticed I actually started bleeding, and passing clots. I thought, "oh no, I'm having a miscarriage", which I never had before, but I knew this is what was happening. Then, the bleeding seem to get worse, so I called the dr. office. I got to talk to someone and they told me to come right in, which I did. The midwife checked me out and said my cervix was open. She saw how heavy I was bleeding, plus still passing clots, tissue or whatever. She knew it did not look good. She said I would probably need a D & C because I was bleeding too much. I said I did not want a D & C, and I did not want to be put to sleep. The dr. (partner) was out of town, so she called a doctor nearby that was taking over for him. She had me go there, to see what he thought. He was concerned with the heavy bleeding as well and instructed me to go to the ER. We waited there a while, but not as long as some others. I think I was put priority over some of the other people. As I was sitting there, I kept getting worried everytime I felt more gush of blood and stuff coming out. Because of what happened with Dylan, that is what had me so worried. After I had given birth to Dylan, I hemmorraged so bad (because of the placenta abruption) and I needed blood transfusions. I did not want to, but had no choice if I did not want to die. I did not want to get to the point of having blood transfusions again. I was then taken to get an ultrasound. I could tell it was not good news. Since I have a tilted uterus, it was hard to find things and see where things were. So then they did a transvaginal. I asked a few questions, but she would not tell me anything. I continued to bleed badly, so they put me back in an ER room. Then a while later, the doctor came and told me what was going on. I already knew I was having a miscarriage. He said it was a blighted ovum, that there was no heartbeat and no development with the baby. I know that I DID have a baby. But what happens with blighted ovum is that the embryo gets absorbed back into the uterus, kinda disappears. And even though I knew that I was 11 weeks, according to the ultrasound, I was only 5 weeks. Even though the baby "disappeared", the placenta and sac remained. So I remained "pregnant" for many more weeks. He told me what my options were and that he thought a D & C was best. My other option was that I could just continue on with the miscarriage, until everything was done passing, but at one point they said I might need blood, so they were preparing just in case. I think this is what scared me and I gave into getting the D & C, even though I did not want it. I was just afraid if I did not get this done, I might bleed too much and need a transfusion, which I did not want. So they took me to surgery and all went well with that. After recovery, I was taken to a room, where I stayed for an hour. We left the hospital around 10:30 PM. I am once again on antibiotics. This time to prevent infection from the D & C. This is the 2nd round of antibiotics within a few weeks, which I am not happy about. But I'm drinking kefir to help prevent other problems. That happened 4 days ago. Meanwhile, I have been taking it easy. They told me I'd have spotting, but I'm having more than that. So, I"m trying to stay off my feet as much as possible. Steve has been great taking care of me and things around the house, and given me support and understanding. I don't think losing the baby had much of an effect on my boys. David has not said anything at all, which is normal for him anyway.. Although Ryan said to me "Why are tears coming from your eyes? Are you sad because you lost the baby?" Ryan amazes me all the time with the things he says. My girls were very much looking forward to this baby. Amanda may have been sad the first day, but now she shows no emotion. She did ask me why I was so depressed and I told her "Wouldn't you be too?" And she said "Yes, if that happened to me, I'd feel the say way." Out of all my children, it has effected Sarah the most. I know she is very upset and she cries alot over everything. And she keeps asking if we can have another baby. Well, I'm 38 and my biological clock is ticking, so we will just have to see what happens. This was such a HUGE disappointment. And I am so heartbroken. I know this is going to take time to heal, although part of me may never heal completely, as I will always remember this. That has been the case with Dylan, who would be turning 6 years old at the end of this month. At least with Dylan, I have memories to hold onto. I have pictures of him, I have the memory of holding him in my arms, and I visit his grave a few times a year. But with this baby, I never got the chance to hold him/ her. I have no memories to hold onto, except for the memory of the short time I was pregnant and the miscarriage. Of course I will never forget my 6th child. I really feel that this baby would have been a girl. I did not get to keep her, but this baby DID exist for a short time. So now Dylan has a little sibling up there with him. I have 2 angels in Heaven looking down on us. |
| A blighted ovum ( also called an 'anembryonic pregnancy') is a fertilized egg which implants in the uterus, and begins to devlop a gestational sac.
The fetus does not continue to develop past the sixth to eighth week of gestation.
What seems to happen is that although the woman's egg is fertilised by the sperm and a pregnancy begins, something goes wrong very early in the development of the fetus. Why this happens isn't clear, but it's most likely to be the result of major genetic abnormalities. The fetus doesn't develop properly and can't manage to survive. It's either lost, like a period, or absorbed into the woman's body.
The placenta continues to grow, and the body is usually slow to catch on that the pregnancy is gone. There may be no bleeding to signal a problem; later, the woman may notice a brown discharge. Sometimes a woman will have a loss without ever knowing she was pregnant. Others will discover the pregnancy and all will appear well throughout much if not all of the first trimester. She may not realize she has a blighted ovum until her healthcare provider fails to detect a heartbeat or an ultrasound reveals an empty gestational sac. Since the placental tissue generates the making of pregnancy hormones, many women with a blighted ovum 'feel pregnant' but are destined to lose the pregnancy. In past decades, many women miscarried blighted ovum pregnancies without knowing what had happened. Today, however, technology has improved to the point that an ultrasound can examine exactly what is going on inside the womb. Due to this technology, the diagnosis of a Blighted Ovum is becoming more common. One in six of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, the majority in the first nine weeks. Blighted ovums are the cause of about 50% of all miscarriages, so it's an unfortunately common occurance. Although genetic or chromosomal abnormalities are probably responsible for about half of these, there may be other factors, including hormonal problems, illness in the mother, infection and problems with the womb. Most women become pregnant again fairly soon after a miscarriage. The risk of another blighted ovum is very small, as having a one doesn't mean you and your partner have genetic problems. You might think of it as just bad luck; some describe a blighted ovum as an unfortunate mix of genes during the 'lucky draw' of fertilisation. A person's life is, unfortunately, forever changed by the loss of a baby. No one should have to experience the kind of pain that goes with such a loss. One moment there is a world of opportunities, with plans and hopes and dreams. Suddenly, they are all gone. It feels so unfair. |
| Information about a Blighted Ovum |
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| In memory of our tiniest angel miscarried on Oct. 2, 2007 |
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