Why does fetal development stop? Who is experiencing this? Is it possible to have a baby later? – Every woman, planning to become a mother, asks these questions. The pathology is quite rare (1 case in 180). The reasons for the death of an embryo can be very different, the main ones are presented below:
- Genetic abnormalities;
- Hormonal imbalances;
- Gestation as a result of IVF;
- Infections;
- History of abortion;
- Twins, triplets;
- Unfavorable environment.
For expectant mothers, especially those who have already dealt with developmental arrest, recovery from a frozen pregnancy is a very pressing issue.
Restoring the body after a frozen pregnancy
First of all, you need to understand that it is possible to give birth to a child in the future: 90% of women who survive fetal death subsequently successfully give birth to a healthy baby. However, it must be remembered that the age of the expectant mother plays a very important role: at 18-25 years old, the percentage of manifestations of this pathology in pregnant women is only 10-15%, and at 40-45 – 50%.
The second issue that worries potential parents is the recovery period after a missed pregnancy. It should be noted that this period is individual for each person, and many factors can influence it:
- Age;
- Presence of gynecological, genetic and other diseases;
- Lifestyle;
- Taking medications;
- Having bad habits.
The minimum recovery period is six months. During this period, the couple should definitely use contraceptives in order to prevent conception.
Recommendations for future pregnancy
Plan your pregnancy, undergo examinations, treat infections, take vitamins - this will help prevent the next pregnancy from fading and make you feel better during it.
Lead a healthy lifestyle, give up bad habits (alcohol, cigarettes), avoid stressful situations and strong negative shocks. Prevent unplanned pregnancies with contraception - this will eliminate abortions.
Planning your next pregnancy probably first begins with dealing with the fear of the situation repeating itself. Give yourself time to process what happened, gain humility and peace of mind. Then your mind and body will be ready to accept, love and bear a healthy baby. After all, every woman should know the happiness of motherhood!
Recovery after cleansing a frozen pregnancy
If the fetus is dead, it can come out of the body on its own, but most often you have to go through a procedure such as curettage. This process is considered quite painful for a pregnant woman.
A slight temperature (up to 37.4), moderate abdominal pain and dizziness in the first days are considered normal. There is also the possibility that a woman may experience discharge that lasts for several days; there is no need to be alarmed, this is a natural process.
It is worth knowing that a possibly frozen fetus will be sent for study to identify the reasons that led to its death. It is also worth knowing everything about histology, read more here.
If, after cleaning, the discharge is profuse, has an unpleasant odor, or lasts longer than 20 days, you should consult a doctor. Loss of consciousness, severe pain in the lower abdomen and high fever are also symptoms that indicate the need for medical attention.
Recovery after curettage of a frozen pregnancy involves a ban on sexual activity for 3 weeks, a month of refusal to take a bath and visit the pool, as well as the maximum possible refusal of physical activity.
In the period after the procedure, it is necessary to prevent infections, rehabilitate mental health, and normalize the cycle and endometrium.
Fetal freezing
A frozen pregnancy may be accompanied by rejection of a non-viable fetus, that is, a miscarriage. In such cases, further actions depend on the stage of pregnancy. If it was insignificant (up to several weeks) or, conversely, the fetus died in the late period (17–20 weeks), medical abortion is used. A woman takes medications according to the regimen, the uterus begins to contract and reject the frozen fetus.
If the period is short, the doctor collects the remains of the membranes, and if the rejection is successful, curettage is not performed. At later stages, contractions occur with subsequent birth of the fetus and placenta. In this case, doctors are already looking at the integrity of the placenta. If there is a shortage of missing areas, additional curettage is performed under anesthesia.
Don't dwell on negative feelings. Subsequent pregnancies in 90% of cases end in successful delivery and the birth of healthy children.
Restoring the cycle after a frozen pregnancy
Over the years, stable menstruation can be disrupted under the influence of stress. The death of a child is a strong shock for a potential mother, therefore, after death, a period of up to 45 days is considered a normal delay in critical days. In addition to stress, the causes of such failures are inflammation of the viscera in the body of the uterus, hormonal instability and residual particles of the fertilized egg.
After curettage, bloody and bloody discharge is possible, do not confuse them with menstruation.
10 days after cleansing, gynecologists advise that you definitely do an ultrasound, which will allow you to monitor the regeneration process.
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Most often, it is difficult to establish the exact cause that led to the development of this disease (each case is studied and considered individually), although doctors name several of the most common points. Among them:
- uncontrolled use of various medications, which include dietary supplements and vitamins, consumed by expectant mothers without consulting a specialist;
- viral diseases (flu, acute respiratory infections, acute respiratory viral infections, etc.);
- smoking;
- drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy;
- taking illegal drugs, etc.
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Pregnancy after a frozen pregnancy - do you need to prepare for it in any special way in order to prevent the situation from reoccurring? What problems can arise during the process of bearing a child?
Domestic and foreign doctors look at this situation differently. So, in the USA, pregnancy is allowed 2, 3, 4 months after a frozen pregnancy, or even immediately. And in Russia and the CIS countries, hormonal drugs are usually prescribed for several months for the purpose of contraception, an examination is carried out to identify the causes of what happened, and numerous tests are required after a missed pregnancy.
They are especially necessary for those women who have not passed them before or have passed them, but not in full. For example, it is absolutely clear that it is necessary to be tested for TORCH infections - rubella, herpes, toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus. If the results of the analysis show that a woman became infected with one of these infections recently, presumably during pregnancy, then she is usually considered the culprit in the death of the embryo. And you need to wait until the body develops immunity against infection. After a few months, follow-up tests are prescribed. If everything is clear, the examinations do not show any abnormalities, then when you can get pregnant after a frozen pregnancy is decided by the woman herself. There is no point in postponing conception. If a woman does not have problems with the reproductive system, for example, a polyp in the uterine cavity or submucosal fibroids that would interfere with the implantation and development of a fertilized egg, the ovaries and thyroid gland are working well, the partner has a normal number of live, mobile sperm in the ejaculate - conception will occur in the next months in case of refusal of contraception and regular sexual activity.
There is no need to postpone planning a pregnancy after a frozen one if the cause of this misfortune is a chromosomal pathology in the embryo. Unfortunately, this can happen even to genetically healthy parents. And the older the partners, the greater the likelihood of such an “accident”. If you are planning a pregnancy after curettage of a frozen pregnancy, some doctors recommend taking hormonal contraceptives for up to three months so that the endometrium is restored. This is also optional. The procedure did not affect the hormonal levels in any way, but the endometrium will grow a new one in the next menstrual cycle.
The question remains open - how to maintain a pregnancy after a frozen one, is it possible to prevent the situation from reoccurring? In a sense, yes. It is necessary to start taking folic acid before conception and continue until at least 12 weeks. This is a very important trace element for expectant mothers. It is necessary to take measures to prevent infection with various infections, including acute respiratory infections. Well-being in the sexual sphere, namely the normal microflora of the vagina, is a guarantee of protection against bacterial vaginosis - an unpleasant disease that, in the case of an acute course, can lead to endometritis, and as a result, loss of pregnancy.
Necessary tests and treatment after a frozen pregnancy. Preparing for pregnancy after a frozen pregnancy.
Sometimes it happens that a long-awaited pregnancy ends in a terrible tragedy - the death of the fetus. When a woman has a frozen pregnancy, as a rule, she undergoes a curettage procedure - freeing the uterine cavity from dead cells by removing the top layer of the endometrium. This operation is performed under general anesthesia.
The rehabilitation process after curettage can last several months. After a woman recovers from such a strong shock and grief, she quite often wants to get pregnant again and still give birth to the desired baby.
But when can she get pregnant again? How long will it take for her body to recover? How to make sure everything goes well this time? We will try to understand all this in this article.
Restoration of the endometrium after a frozen pregnancy
The endometrium is the mucous layer of the uterine body to which the fertilized egg is attached. If the thickness is insufficient, problems arise with attachment and nutrition, and gestation may stop.
After an unsuccessful attempt to bear a child during the recovery period, a woman may develop endometritis - one of the complications after cleansing, which is an inflammation of the mucous layer.
Restoration of the endometrium after curettage of a frozen pregnancy is one of the most necessary measures for planning a new conception and is carried out through hormonal therapy. Treatment should be cyclical and include estrogens and gestagens in large doses.
Some medications suitable for extensions:
- Femoston;
- Duphaston;
- Progynoma;
- Divigel;
- Gormel.
All drugs have side effects, so they should be selected by a gynecologist, who will also determine the dosage and period of use!
Useful video about frozen pregnancy and planning
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Pregnancy does not always end in childbirth. Sometimes the development of the embryo in the fertilized egg stops and it dies, causing a miscarriage. According to statistics, most often a frozen pregnancy is diagnosed at 6-8 weeks.
A woman either has a natural miscarriage or is referred for an artificial termination of pregnancy if the fertilized egg, which is regressing in development, still remains in the uterus.
Most often, the expectant mother does not notice the moment of death of the embryo and may still notice signs of pregnancy: soreness and heaviness of the mammary glands, toxicosis, drowsiness. This is due to the fact that the hCG hormone is still present in the blood, although in much smaller quantities.
Recovery after vacuum cleaning of a frozen pregnancy
Vacuum aspiration is a more comfortable and safe alternative to surgical curettage.
Its advantages:
- Minimizing the risk of cervical injury;
- Short duration and low complexity;
- Faster recovery period.
Despite the fact that this procedure is easier to tolerate than curettage, after its implementation there is also a recovery period, the conditions of which are similar to the rules of behavior after surgical cleansing, but the terms of restrictions are less. For example, it is recommended not to have sexual intercourse after vacuum aspiration for 2 weeks (for surgery - 3).
At the moment, such cleaning is the most effective, but even after it it is necessary to do an ultrasound examination to make sure that all particles of the fertilized egg have been removed from the uterus.
Features of terminating a frozen pregnancy
If the death of the fetus is determined, the uterus must be urgently cleaned. If the procedure is delayed, the embryo begins to rot, causing harm to the entire mother’s body.
Cleaning is carried out in one of the following ways:
Medication.
It is carried out without surgical intervention. For medicinal cleansing, it is necessary to take a special drug that stimulates labor in the uterus to reject the dead fetus.
Surgical.
When a miscarriage does not occur for various reasons, surgical cleaning of the uterus is performed - the fetus is scraped out. But, this method of cleaning poses a particular danger to the pelvic organs - with one wrong movement, irreparable harm can be caused.
Coryutage.
Anesthesia is prescribed for the procedure. During corutage, special dilators are installed on the cervix. Special instruments are inserted through the dilators, with the help of which the uterus is completely cleaned, including the removal of the top layer of mucus.
Vacuum aspiration.
With vacuum aspiration, a device is inserted into the uterus to suck out the remains, without the use of local anesthesia.
Childbirth.
If all the methods listed above are used exclusively to remove the remains of a small embryo, then they are not suitable for a large and fully mature fetus. The birth process is stimulated.
Recovery after early miscarriage
Fetal death most often occurs either at 3-4 weeks, or at 8-10. The most dangerous week is 8, it is during this week that the most important organs of the future baby are formed. In the early stages, it is difficult to track the fading of gestation: there may be no toxicosis, and human chorionic gonadotropin, even after stopping the development of the embryo, is excreted from the body only after 2-4 weeks. The easiest way to check is to measure your basal temperature; when it freezes, it drops below 37 degrees.
If fetal death is suspected, the woman is immediately hospitalized and undergoes an ultrasound and hCG analysis. When the diagnosis is confirmed, the fertilized egg is removed.
After surgery, it is recommended to take antibiotics, oral contraceptives and vitamins. In addition, it is recommended to undergo some tests and send the material obtained after curettage for histology.
Other causes of missed abortion
There are many more reasons for missed abortion. The examination will not always indicate the source of the problem. Along with hormonal imbalance, infections and genetic abnormalities, the causes of fetal death can also be:
Anembryony. After fertilization, the division of cells responsible for the development of the embryo stops, but the placenta continues to grow. As a result, the fertilized egg develops without an embryo, which sooner or later leads to a miscarriage. Pathology is usually determined during an ultrasound, but the tests will continue to streak due to the production of hCG by the fertilized egg.
Unhealthy Lifestyle. Excessive drinking and smoking reduce the chances of carrying a child to term.
Deviations in the structure of the uterus. For the development of pregnancy, the structure, shape, size and location of the uterus plays an important role. If the uterus is bicornuate, underdeveloped, or has septa, pregnancy cannot develop.
Taking medications. Not only contraceptives, but also other hormonal drugs can lead to fetal death. In addition, regular ibuprofen or aspirin can also be harmful.
Chronic diseases. Problems with the kidneys, heart, liver or other organs negatively affect the embryo, depriving it of necessary nutrients. Anemia is also a common cause of freezing.
Multiple pregnancy. When conceiving twins or triplets, the risk of miscarriage increases. Sometimes only one fetus freezes, while the second continues to develop normally.
Artificial insemination. IVF provides an opportunity to experience motherhood for women who are unable to conceive naturally. However, the likelihood of a frozen pregnancy increases significantly. The reasons for this development of events have not yet been clarified, however, with repeated conception using IVF, the chance of bearing a child increases.
To find out the cause of fetal freezing, it is necessary to conduct a series of examinations. If this case is isolated, there is a high chance of normal development of pregnancy at the next conception. However, repeated repetition indicates problems in the body of the expectant mother or father. Despite the reluctance of the stronger sex to go to the doctor, the man also needs to be examined. At least to rule out the presence of the disease. Otherwise, a woman can go through “all the circles of hell” without getting even a moment closer to solving the problem.
Recovery after late pregnancy
Fetal development may stop up to 28 weeks. In the second trimester, the first sign of the baby’s death is the cessation of movement. In this case, it is removed by intravenous administration of a solution of prostaglandins.
The complexity of the rehabilitation process in this case is due to the woman’s getting used to the child, and losing him for 4-5 months is a huge stress. The expectant mother will have to get used to the idea that life is no longer developing inside her for a long time, and it is possible that she will need the help of a qualified specialist.
Don't be afraid of a non-developing pregnancy! When planning a child, you should take this very seriously and adhere to certain rules. Be sure to visit a doctor, take all the necessary tests, take a course of vitamins. See a gynecologist regularly, follow his instructions, and then the likelihood of pathology occurring will be significantly reduced.
Video on the topic “ Recovery after a frozen pregnancy ”
How to carry a pregnancy to term
After the recovery stage is over, the woman becomes physiologically and morally ready for new attempts at conception, there is no need to waste time - you can get pregnant in the next cycle. The majority of patients (approximately 80-90%) who experienced fetal failure in the recent past successfully became pregnant and carried the child to term.
During pregnancy, it is necessary to be observed by a gynecologist, who will identify abnormalities that impede normal pregnancy. If the doctor insists on hormonal support for the ongoing pregnancy, you should not refuse; in many women, this may occur due to a lack of progesterone, especially among those who became pregnant after a non-developing pregnancy, the cause of which was hormonal disorders.
During the entire gestation period, a woman should be attentive to her own well-being and, if any signs of trouble appear, immediately consult a doctor. For example, a sudden cessation of symptoms may indicate that the pregnancy has stalled again.
About planning your next pregnancy
When a frozen pregnancy was desired for a woman, she experiences severe stress. And then events develop in two ways. Some representatives of the fairer sex immediately ask when the next pregnancy is possible and how to prepare for it, while others cannot even think about another pregnancy.
Both ways of thinking are normal. But wanting to conceive again as soon as possible is unreasonable. Yes, the woman has already gotten used to the image of the future mother, made plans, came up with a name for a boy or girl. But in any case, the rapid onset of the next pregnancy again threatens with serious pathologies and a repetition of the tragic scenario.
The first thing to do is to find out the cause of miscarriage. If fetal fading was caused by bad habits, infections, hormonal disorders, then the chances of repeated pathological development of the fetus are high. Two or three missed pregnancies in the past set the body up for habitual miscarriage.
The first priority should be a comprehensive examination, physiological and psychological recovery.
As for the next pregnancy, this, according to gynecologists, should happen no earlier than in 6 months.
Doctors recommend planning a new pregnancy after curettage no earlier than six months later. In this case, it is necessary to undergo examinations and tests in order to prepare as well as possible. Otherwise, the risk of relapse is high.
In addition, if a woman becomes pregnant immediately or just a couple of months after curettage of a frozen pregnancy, there is a high probability that her body will be susceptible to pathologies such as anemia, hormonal imbalance, hypovitaminosis, etc. This can negatively affect the health of the unborn child.
Every woman who has encountered trouble is interested in questions regarding a new pregnancy, since she does not want the situation to repeat itself. To do this, you need to approach this step with all responsibility and follow all the doctor’s recommendations, because cleaning is a traumatic procedure that takes place under local anesthesia.
An important rule to know is that a new pregnancy must be planned.
