If you are worried about 8 week miscarriage, the symptoms to look for are cramping and bleeding. While those are the more commons first signs of miscarriage, they don’t necessarily mean you are having one. The only way to definitively tell if a miscarriage is occurring is to have an hCG blood test to check your pregnancy hormone levels or an ultrasound to look for baby’s heartbeat.

The following article may help to answer any questions you may have about miscarriage. As always, if you think you might be having a miscarriage, you need to seek medical advice.

What Is Miscarriage?

A miscarriage is when pregnancy ends prior to the 20^th week. Miscarriages happen in roughly 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies and often before women even know they are pregnant. They often think they are just having an abnormally heavy period at the time. Because of this, the numbers could be a lot higher.

The majority of medically diagnosed miscarriages happen from the 7^th to 12^th week of pregnancy. Once you see your baby’s heartbeat on an ultrasound, the chance of miscarriage becomes lower. Miscarriages can occur anywhere along the first 20 week stretch, but most often happen at week 4, week 8, week 12 and week 16 of pregnancy.

Miscarriage at 8 Weeks (Early Miscarriage)

It is actually quite common for some women to have a little bleeding early on in pregnancy. Statistics show that miscarriages occur in 1 out of 7 pregnancies. A large number of these are caused by genetic issues. If you have bleeding from your vagina and are pregnant, you need to call your doctor right away. If you have very severe cramping and heavy bleeding, you need to call for emergency medical help right away. If you have severe pain and bleeding, you may have a tubal pregnancy, which is a very serious event. Pregnancy loss is a traumatic experience for both partners, but it is possible to recover and carry a baby to term in the future.

An early miscarriage has a few common signs to watch for. Look for heavy bleeding, passing clots and severe cramping. Some women report that all pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness and nausea disappear with pregnancy loss. It is possible that the bleeding and cramping may stop and the pregnancy continues, known as “threatened abortion.” If it is a true miscarriage, the bleeding and cramping will end in delivery of the fetus.

What Causes Early Miscarriage?

Miscarriages that happen around the 8^th week of pregnancy occur because there is something wrong with the development of the embryo. This is usually a genetic or chromosomal defect. When no reason is found for the miscarriage, they usually don’t occur repeatedly.

Embryos need 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 chromosomes from the mother. When those numbers are off, the embryo cannot form into a baby. If there are severe abnormalities in the structure of the chromosomes, the pregnancy does not continue past the embryonic stage and the body will end the pregnancy.

Here you can learn more causes for miscarriage.

What Happens After Miscarriage at 8 Weeks (Early Miscarriage)?

Most often, your doctor will send you home if you are not bleeding heavily and tell you to go to the hospital only if you have heavy bleeding. You will pass the fetal material and the bleeding will lighten and stop after a week or so. It should be completely gone by two weeks after the miscarriage. Your doctor may give you medication for pain and allow you to use a hot water bottle for cramping. Make sure you have someone with you to help while you rest. Some of the treatment options include:

• Watching closely: your doctor may opt to watch the bleeding and give it more time to stop if you do not have any signs of infection.
• Medications: your doctor can prescribe you medications that will help your body expel the rest of the products of pregnancy.
• Surgery: a minor surgery known as a D & C can scrape out the rest of the tissue left behind to help stop the bleeding. They may give you medications to help the uterus contract. With this, you may bleed for up to three more weeks. Most people who have this done do not need any further treatment.

If you have had more than 3 miscarriages, your doctor may refer you to a specialist for genetic counseling or to check your health to find a cause for repeated miscarriages.

Miscarriage at 8 Weeks: Similar Experiences of Other Moms

“Something just wasn’t right”

“Around the 6^th week of my pregnancy, I began spotting. This lasted for about 2 weeks. I started to feel like something wasn’t right and just knew in my heart that my baby’s heart has stopped. I started to have a really bad headache and very bad cramps. The spotting had been brown and turned bright red and I started to bleed pretty heavy. My previous ultrasound showed our baby had a heartbeat, but when I went to the doctor for the bleeding there was no more heartbeat. It confirmed my feelings that something wasn’t right. My doctor stated that I had lost my baby. Since my cervix was not open, the doctor said I should have a D & C. Just know that you are not alone and I wish you the best of luck in trying again.”

“I had no symptoms of miscarriage”

“I found out when I was 11 weeks pregnant, that my baby had passed away around the 8^th week of pregnancy. I chose to allow the miscarriage to happen naturally at home, but by the 13^th week I still had not miscarried. I woke up one morning at 13 ½ weeks with severe cramping, bleeding and nausea. My body could not completely deliver the placenta and I had to have an emergency D & C to remove the rest of the pregnancy tissue. I then recovered and went on the have a successful pregnancy the next time.”