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Women who experience a missed abortion, in which the baby's heart stops beating before the eighth week of pregnancy, often ask themselves, “What went wrong?” and worry about the possibility of habitual miscarriage.
Yoo Jung-hyun, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, said on a YouTube channel, “They feel guilty, thinking, ‘Did I eat something wrong?’, ‘Was this behavior a mistake?’, or ‘What did I do to cause the miscarriage?’”
(Credit: Getty Images)
(Credit: Getty Images)
She explained that it is uncommon for a human pregnancy to progress beyond eight weeks if there is an underlying issue. After this point, the baby typically continues to develop well.
“If a fetus has a health abnormality, it is difficult to progress beyond eight weeks, often resulting in a missed abortion before that stage,” Yoo said. “Women should not dwell on the past.”
"After experiencing a missed abortion, many women worry about habitual miscarriage. However, there is no such condition," she said, emphasizing that habitual miscarriage is uncommon and there is no need to be overly concerned about a missed abortion.
So, what are the real reasons for missed abortions? In reality, the exact cause remains unclear.
“We don't know the cause,” said Yoo. “If you look at textbooks, there are many possible reasons for missed abortions. The most important factor is that the baby is not healthy.”
“If there are two consecutive missed abortions within a year, we sometimes conduct a chromosome test on the fetus,” Dr. Yoo said. “There are also methods to determine whether the baby carries a genetic factor that could cause miscarriage.”
“When investigating the cause of a missed abortion, we conduct a basic medical examination, check for abnormalities in the uterus, look for special antibodies the mother may have against the baby, and examine the chromosomes of both parents,” Yoo said. “However, more often than not, the results are normal.”
So, if you experience a missed abortion, is curettage surgery the only option to remove the pregnancy tissue? Not necessarily.
“There are methods to induce uterine contractions with medication instead of surgery, allowing the cervix to widen and the pregnancy tissue to pass naturally,” explains Yoo.
The advantage of using medication is that it eliminates the need for anesthesia or surgery, and patients do not have to lie on an operating table. However, there are also drawbacks.
“You may experience heavy bleeding, and the timing of the bleeding is unpredictable,” Dr. Yoo explained. “Additionally, there is no way to be certain that all the tissue has passed. If any remains in the uterus, it can lead to inflammation.”
There are alternatives to curettage surgery.
“There is a surgical method that relies on suction,” said Dr. Yoo. “In the first trimester, the placenta is not firmly attached to the uterus, so using suction allows for a safer procedure with minimal damage to the uterus, reducing the risk of complications that could affect future pregnancies.”
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Kim Kyoung-Won kkw97@docdocdoc.co.kr
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