Waiting for a miscarriage to happen when you know it's inevitable can be unnerving. You may be wondering, "What does a miscarriage look like?"
What it looks like will differ depending upon a few factors such as what stage of your pregnancy you are at when the loss occurs and whether or not you expel the miscarriage partially or fully on your own.
Many women never find out the facts about, "what does a miscarriage look like" on their own because they often have to have a procedure known as a D&C to remove the tissues from their body.
Some report when asked, what does a miscarriage look like, as a simple heavy period. Sometimes the miscarriage occurs well before there's any development big enough to see. Others asked "What does a miscarriage look like" report it as a grayish vein filled sac or even to have distinguishable features that show that it is in fact a fetus. The vast majority of people see nothing more than blood clots and tissue loss.
A miscarriage is a traumatizing experience that's different to everyone that experiences it. The sense of loss can be heart wrenching as many women feel like they bond to their unborn baby the moment they realize that they are pregnant. A miscarriage is difficult to grieve when some people don't see it as a true loss, especially when it's early in your pregnancy.
Finding a support group to talk to or seeking therapy can be very helpful in overcoming loss. This is especially important if you have had more than one loss. While many women experience a miscarriage during their reproductive years, and many go on to have successful pregnancies, talking to others about your pain and loss can help you in your healing process.
If you are pregnant and have had bleeding but aren't sure if you are miscarrying, you could be asking, 'What does a miscarriage look like?' because you don't know if your bleeding is indicative of a miscarriage or not. Many women that have successful pregnancies do experience some bleeding. It's important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible to determine whether or not the bleeding is a cause for concern. Your doctor will likely test for fetal heart tones, do an ultrasound and possibly a blood test to find out what your HCG levels are.
If a miscarriage is occurring, you may need medical procedures to clean out your system of any residual tissue from the pregnancy or it may be expelled on its own. This is a difficult time for women and having strong moral support is important during this time. Regardless of how far along a woman is, a miscarriage is a difficult life event to overcome.
Azzam Sheikh
Facilitator 'Strengthening families, strengthening communities' parent programme.
pregnancy resource center
