Is it necessary to seek medical attention if you have a miscarriage (during the first trimester)?

Question

If it is possible to have a miscarriage (during the first trimester/6 weeks) and not know it obviously you can not seek medical attention. What happens then? Does a womens body function normally without any type of medical treatment? Will your doctor discover if there is any problems or complications at your next pap smear or check up? This may come across as ignorant but it is something I am just curious to know?

Answer 1

Nine times out of ten a woman will not need any medical attention if she miscarries during the first trimester (12 weeks). As you rightly point out, many times a woman can miscarry so early in pregnancy that she isn't even aware that she was pregnant. Rarely though, a woman can develop an infection during an early miscarriage and even though she did not realise she was pregnant, she will experience symptoms which prompt her to seek medical attention and through doctor's investigations she will learn that she was in fact pregnant.

The further advanced the pregnancy is, the more likely it is that the mother will need to seek medical attention. Also in cases of abnormal pregnancies, like an ectopic or a mole pregnancy, the mother can miscarry early but still need to see a doctor...usually other symptoms like pain or heavy bleeding will prompt the mother to seek medical care in these cases.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I lost a baby at nine weeks, a complete miscarriage, and rang my gyno. He asked me if I wanted to come in to hospital, and I said I didn't know (I hate hospitals). Then he asked me "If you were miles from anywhere, and the same thing happened, would you be able to cope on your own?" I said I would. He said I could contact him if I changed my mind, but I didn't. A year later I had my fourth child, a beautiful little girl, and no complications.
A complete miscarriage doesn't require intervention, not at an early stage, and won't effect your ability to try again. But it is worthwhile having the doctor check, as an incomplete one, where not all is passed, can lead to complications, especially the later the miscarriage is.
Will your doctor be able to tell if you have had a miscarriage during a pap smear? Yes. The cervix does change when you are pregnant, and doesn't change back. So depending on how through the exam is, they should be able to tell.

Answer 4

I had an early miscarriage at 5 weeks, 2 days after getting a positive pregnancy test. I started spotting and called the doctor. They did have me come in to make sure it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy. Once they confirmed it was just a miscarriage, I went home and bled for a few days. It stopped, I went in for a blood test to confirm that my HCG (pregnancy) levels were falling to zero. I was told to wait one cycle before trying again and I got pregnant immediately afterwards. I'm now 39 weeks with my second daughter. So, really i did not need any medical treatment, but I was very early. Some women do require medication or surgery to ensure everything is expelled from the uterus. But if the bleeding stops and the hormones return to normal, then no medical treatment is required, just monitoring.

Answer 5

You should seek medical attention if you think you had a miscarriage, but as long as you heal normally, your body should function normally again. I know that I had a miscarriage, but I did not seek medical attention (stupid of me, I know); I then went on to have 2 healthy babies. Don't take this kind of risk, though. It is possible to have tissue still inside of the uterus after a miscarriage, which if not properly taken care of, can cause lots of problems. Good luck!

Answer 6

Honestly you should always go see an OBGYN if you were pregnant and lost it, believe me, I have miscarriage 12 times. They need to make sure that all of the placenta and fetus leave your body so you don't get toxemia and they will also check your hCG levels and ensure they are going down. Plus you always gotta think bleeding doesn't always mean miscarriage. If you took a pregnancy test and it came back positive and now you are bleeding you may have been developing the fetus in your felopian tubes and that can be fatal if not detected. Better to be safe than sorry. Sorry for your loss and best of luck in the future.

Answer 7

Yes it's VERY necessary to get medical attention after a miscarriage! The biggest reason is to ensure that all the fetal tissue has passed because if it has not it can lead to an infection. As for answering your other questions....a miscarriage can happen at any time during pregnancy. When something happens to your body that you KNOW is NOT normal for you, then you NEED to get checked out to ensure that everything is all right. Hope all is well for you...GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 8

It is always recommended to see a doctor after a miscarriage to make sure the expulsion of tissue is complete. That early, the body usually takes care of things itself, but the complications that can arise from an incomplete miscarriage are serious. Get checked.

Answer 9

Anytime a woman miscarriages doctors want to do a D&C. This is a surgery which scrapes the extra tissue which is left over from the miscarriage. This excess tissue can cause infection, or blockage. It can prevent future pregnancies. It is important that the doctor see the patient very soon after the miscarriage for the safety of the patient.

Answer 10

You wouldn't need medical attention, unless there was excessive bleeding that won't stop, fever, nausea, yada yada yada. Lots of women have miscarriages in the very beginning and never know it. It's usually an issue with the implantation in the uterine lining gone wrong.