Can a Miscarriage Happen Even after Seven (7) months of Pregnancy?

On a few occasions, I have heard cases of miscarriages but all the miscarriages that I have heard about, it has been at the early stage of the pregnancy journey. However, something I have never really never heard about happened today, my friend who is 7 months gone, was rushed to the hospital, she called me to say she lost the baby. I was so scared and heartbroken at the same time, this was her first pregnancy, and we were all anticipating the birth of the new baby. The first question on my mind was, who gets a miscarriage at 7 months? It was difficult to believe, but most importantly, I am excited that my friend is doing well, healthwise.


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Let's discuss miscarriage.

Miscarriage basically describes the loss of a baby before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Medically, miscarriage is referred to as; spontaneous abortion. You should never beat yourself hard for miscarrying a pregnancy, it may not even be your fault in the first place, most recorded miscarriages are beyond the control of the expecting mother.

The possibility of having a miscarriage as a pregnant woman is 50% according to medical research, and 80% of the miscarriages that happen, occurs within the first 3 months of pregnancy.
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There are different categories of miscarriage;

  • Missed miscarriage: This category of miscarriage happens to women who think they are still pregnant meanwhile, a miscarriage has occurred, an ultrasound is used to confirm that the fetus doesn't have a heartbeat since this type of miscarriage does not show any symptoms, it is easy for the expecting mother not to be aware that miscarriage has actually happened.

  • Complete miscarriage: In this case, the expecting mother has lost the pregnancy completely, and the uterus is empty. There has been a case of serious bleeding and fetal tissue has been passed as well, so there is nothing left there.

  • Recurrent miscarriage: This is a case of recurring miscarriages, according to research, it happens to 1% of couples, which means it is a very rare condition.

  • Threatened miscarriage: This type of miscarriage happens when there is consistent bleeding but the cervix remains closed, alongside the heavy bleeding, the expecting mother also experiences pelvic cramping. Throughout the pregnancy period, in most cases, the journey remains smooth but there may be close monitoring by an expert just to ensure a smooth ride all through the journey of the pregnancy.

  • Inevitable miscarriage: The expected mother in this case is cramping, bleeding and at the same time, has a cervix that has started to dilate, the possibility of having a complete miscarriage is possible.

Miscarriage may happen to anyone for different reasons, but most cases of miscarriages are not triggered by a fault on the part of the expectant mother, miscarriage could happen as a result of;

Abnormal chromosones in the baby:

The chromosones in a developing baby are contributed by the father and the mother,chromosones are responsible for holding genes together. Chromosones abnormalities could come in some of these forms;

Molar pregnancy: When both sets of chromosones come from the father instead of both parents, in this case, there is no fatal development.

Intrauterine fetal demise: In this case, there is a formed embrayo, but the embrayo stops developing before the signs of miscarriage are noticed.

Partial molar pregnancy: In this case, the father's chromosones produces two sets of chromosones despite the fact that the mother's chromosomes are present.

Blighted ovum.

In this case, there is no embrayo formed at all.

When the cells of the embryo divide, or there is a damaged egg or sperm cell, a miscarriage could happen, and an issue with the placenta could also lead to miscarriage.

Lifestyle.

Some lifestyle habits, could create distortion to the fetus;
Drug and alcohol abuse, trauma, infections, poor diet, untreated thyroid disease, trauma, obesity, cervix problems, food poisoning, medications, serious high blood pressure, diabetes, and the uterus is not in a normal shape.2

Age as a causative factor can also not be ignored, those who are above 35, have a higher chance of experiencing miscarriage than those who are of a younger age.
Wrong development of the placenta, prevents the supply of blood from mother to baby and miscarriage happens.

PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome).

PCOS occurs when the woman's ovaries are too big, this creates an horonal imbalance that leads to misccariage.

Weak cervix.

With the muscles of the cervix been weak, they can easily open up during the early stage of pregnancy leading to miscarriage.


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Health conditions.

Certain health conditions could trigger misccariages. Diabetes, kidney disease, HIV, maleria, rubella, high blood pressure, lupus, coeliac disease, syphilis and gonorrhea.

Medications.

Some drugs consumed during pregnancy can can lead to complications for an expectant mother. Medicines that contains; misoprostol, antidepressants, methotrexate, retinoids and NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Excessive caffeine intake.

According to the research published by European Journal of Epidemiology, great intake of caffeine could be associated with low birth weight, stillbirth, and abortion. 3

There have been no confirmed case of how sex positions and exercise could lead to misccariage, but it is best to speak with a medical expert about the appropriate type of exercise that would not harm the baby and mother. Like I mentioned earlier, these are simply research based possible contributive factor to the occurence of miscarriage,most cases of miscarriage do not come with a particular congent reason.

To identify the possibilities of miscarriage when the body changes, some of these symptoms could be noticed; Fever, chills, Intense pain, heavy bleeding, discharge of fluid or tissue from the vagina, and severe abdominal pain. Experts advise women not to put anything into their vagina after miscarriage happens, this includes abstainance from sex, and abstinence from sex toys or fingers is also a neccesity.

In cases of repeated miscarriage, you will need to go for a test with your partner, in order to determine what the possible problem could be;
Going for blood tests like karyotyping, will help to determine abnormalities in chromosome. The tissue from the miscarriage caan be used by medical experts to determine chromonsome abnormalitites.

Blood test would be needed to check for autoimmune conditions or hormonal conditions in the body, causing the repeated miscarriages.
Hysterosalpingogram is an x-ray dye test of the fallopian tubes and the uterus.
Laparoscopy, the medical expert reviews the pelvic organ with a lighted device.

Having established the fact that, miscarriages is not the fault of the expecting mother, there are certain health care routines that could hlp prevent the possibility of having another misccariage;

Attending parental care appoinments diligently.
Take regular vitamins.
Constant exercise, eating healthy meals.
Maintaining a good weight.
Avoid the excessive intake of alchohol and cigarettes.

What happens after miscarriage.

It can be really exhausting and draining to have a miscarriage and the possibilies of one or more of these miscarriages after-reaction is really possible.
The feeling of anger, guilt and shock.

Having misccariage could lead to some type of emotional trauma, take the needed time to heal appropriately, talk to your partner about how you feel and seek support from a counsellor if neccesary. 4

You could confuse period for miscarriage.

Some miscarriages happen before we even realize that we are pregnant, so, we may easily confuse the two, one for another, but there are actually ways to differentiate them;
It could be a miscarriage if there is severe back and abdominal pain, passing large clots and fluids also serve as an important symptoms. Symptoms of a miscarriage last longer and get worse than normal period.

Some miscarriages happen at seven months.

When a baby is lost at seven months, it is no longer called a miscarriage, but stillbirth. A stillbirth occurs as a result of complications around the womb and the baby, possible complications that surround the situation of stillbirth;

Placenta abruption: In a situation like this, the placenta begins to pull away from the uterine wall, this situation could be a life-threatening one to both mother and child. In a situation like this one, the baby stops receiving oxygen and the required nutrients for survival.

Accidents with umbilical cord: In a case where the umbilical cord gets compressed or gets tightly wrapped around the baby during pregnancy, it would deprive the baby of the appropriate amount of oxygen needed for survival and of course would lead to stillbirth.

Chromosomal abnormalities: If the baby has a chromosome disorder, there is a great chance of stillbirth.

Intrauterine growth restriction: A baby diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction are babies who measure smaller than normal growing size, this may be a result of the baby not getting the appropriate nutrients and oxygen required for appropriate growth.

Infections: Having one or more of these infections, would be harmful to the baby and then result in stillbirth.
Urinary tract infections.
Bacterial and viral infections.
Sexually transmitted diseases.

Increased intake of alcohol, smoking, and illegal drugs description could lead to pregnancy complications and stillbirth.

Extreme stress can also lead to stillbirth for an expectant mother.

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Possible risk factors surrounding stillbirth.

Sometimes, it may be as a result of the first pregnancy.
Complications from a previous pregnancy.
Prior surgery to the uterus.
Smocking during pregnancy.
A low-income earner translates to a low standard of living, it could also be a causative factor behind stillbirth.
Prior surgery that affects the uterus.
Rare cases are associated with expecting babies in multiples.
Extremely young or advanced in age (younger than 20 and older than 35).
Obesity also contributes.

The moment you notice any of these signs, a medical expert should be called immediately.
When you feel the baby has stopped moving, leaking, or rushing water when you feel serious headache or pain in the lower abdominal region when there is vaginal bleeding, blurred vision, frequent contractions, and painful urination.
Do not assume or listen to the advice of someone who is not a medical expert, visit your health care provider as frequently as you can. 5

Late miscarriages are really painful and highly traumatic, if you have someone who experiences a late miscarriage, try to be there for them because they really need you at a point like that, they could experience a serious range of emotions which could go from, guilt to anger sadness and even to the point of getting jealous about other pregnant women.

I feel the pain would be more intense for those who have late miscarriages because they were already building some sort of bond with the unborn child. However, regardless of the stage or level of the miscarriage, it is really traumatizing and we should be there for them.

For further studies.

https://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/pregnancy-miscarriage

https://www.healthline.com/health/miscarriage#signs

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262941#causes

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9688-miscarriage

https://www.lovetoknowhealth.com/pregnancy/miscarriages-at-7-months

https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/late-miscarriage-symptoms#next-steps

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pregnancy-loss-miscarriage/symptoms-causes/syc-20354298#:~:text=Miscarriage%20is%20the%20spontaneous%20loss,even%20know%20about%20a%20pregnancy.

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and I also have a youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.

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woman are really trying to be honest, have heard of stillbirth and it occur based on most reason you listed above and most times it is beyond human power. really sad your friend lost the pregnancy, all will be well

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Omg that is so sad 😣 I am sorry for your friend's loss dear. My sister also lost her baby when being 8 months pregnant, because the baby had a tumor in her belly and the doctors saw it too late. Losing a child is very traumatic. It has been 10 years since my sister lost her child, but it still hurts very much when we think about it. I hope your friend will get the support she needs. Much love and strenght to her and also to all the family and friends. ❤️

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Thanks a lot @angie08, we are doing all we can to be there for her at a time likee this one. So sorry about your sister also, but I am curious to know, did she try another baby?

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This is so sad😔 Thank God she's better now. As a nurse, I've observed that Pregnancy is generally delicate and full of uncertainty. I advice all pregnant mothers to stick to routine as told, go to a hospital as a first timer, take your routine drugs, ask questions when confused (ask a medical personnel) Some abortions are unpredictable but we can try as much as possible to do things rightly. That's my advice to pregnant mothers. Pray to God too. Prayer is really important, please. Finally, I really enjoyed your article @oluwatobilob. It was so informative.

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👍. This was really detailed including the psychological effect. Thank you for this article.

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