The news of pregnancy is a joy for future parents, but it often happens that after a happy euphoria there comes a period of difficult trials, if the experts made a disappointing diagnosis - frozen pregnancy.
The fetus can stop developing in the body of any woman, regardless of age. According to statistics, for 176 normally occurring pregnancies, there is 1 dead, which ends in a heavy operation and the loss of a child.
How to protect yourself from a rather rare, but still possible pathology? Many women ask this question, because, carrying a child under the heart, the fair sex becomes incredibly suspicious and afraid of any misfortune. Experts argue that the likelihood of a missed pregnancy can be significantly reduced if you correctly approach the baby planning process. However, it should be remembered that even if a woman has had one frozen pregnancy, in most cases this does not prevent her from becoming a safe mother in the future.
What is a frozen pregnancy
Frozen or, as it is also called, a non-developing pregnancy is a condition when the fetus located in the womb of a woman ceases to grow and dies. From the point of view of health and the possibility of having children in the future for the fair sex, it is very important to detect pathology as soon as possible, because a neglected form is very likely to lead to severe inflammatory processes and infertility.
Causes of Frozen Pregnancy
Doctors conducted quite a lot of research to identify the causes of a missed pregnancy. A large amount of information obtained as a result of large-scale scientific and practical work allowed us to determine the most common causes of pathology:
- hormonal disorders occurring in the body of a pregnant woman (arising from illness or excessive use of medications);
- genetic (chromosomal) disorders in the fetus;
- chronic infections in women (including sexually transmitted infections - chlamydia, herpes, etc.);
- acute infectious diseases (acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, etc.);
- bad habits (alcohol abuse, smoking, the use of narcotic, toxic and stupefying drugs).
Most often, specialists identify such anomalies in pregnant women who, immediately before conception or during the period when the child has already appeared in the womb of the fair sex, led an asocial lifestyle.
How long does a frozen pregnancy occur?
A frozen pregnancy can occur at any time, so doctors recommend that expectant mothers, all the while the baby is under the heart, pay attention to his condition and behavior. Despite the risk of pathology occurring throughout the gestation period, the first months are considered to be especially dangerous, and it is during the first 12 weeks that there is the greatest probability of a missed pregnancy. The first trimester accounts for more than 50 percent of cases of not developing pregnancy.
Signs and symptoms of missed pregnancy
For a pregnant woman, it is very important at an early stage to identify the fact that the fetus does not develop in the womb, it is this moment that can determine the likelihood of becoming a healthy baby in the future. A frozen pregnancy has certain signs and symptoms, which largely depend on at what stage the baby started to develop a pathology.
At the early stage of pregnancy, it is quite difficult to identify the anomaly, there are practically no pronounced signs, as a rule, the problem is detected only at the next preventive examination by a gynecologist. Late diagnosis is fraught with consequences, which is why doctors recommend that, upon detection of the following points, consult a specialist immediately:
- cessation of toxicosis (as a rule, in the first trimester nausea in the morning is present in most pregnant women, it is especially worth worrying if there was toxicosis, but it suddenly disappeared);
- decrease in basal temperature (during pregnancy, it is always increased by several divisions);
- absence of pain in the mammary glands (during the development of the fetus, the structure of the mammary glands changes, the woman’s body prepares for the lactation period, the breast enlarges, this process causes serious discomfort for the expectant mother).
At a later date, a frozen pregnancy may be accompanied by signs and symptoms, such as:
- the lack of movement of the child;
- pain in the lower abdomen;
- bleeding (peeling of the ovum may occur).
In the second and third trimesters, it is much easier to determine the presence of a missed pregnancy than in the first trimester, if at least one of the above signs is found, the representative of the fair sex should consult a specialist and undergo a thorough examination.
At the same time, doctors advise pregnant women who are very suspicious during the period of bearing a child, not to rush into hysteria and not to panic ahead of time. There are times when the absence of baby movements is not due to a dangerous pathology at all, but to the usual calmness of the future representative of the offspring. It should be examined promptly, but without unnecessary emotions, it should be remembered that such a pathology is still quite rare.
A gynecologist will prescribe tests and conduct an ultrasound examination, in the process of studying the information, the correct diagnosis will be made. If it turns out that a woman does indeed have a fetus that has died in development and died, the specialist will call an emergency birth and establish the cause that led to the pathology. This process is very important, since it depends on it whether a woman will be able to have children in the future and whether the situation with the fading of another pregnancy will repeat.
Pregnancy after a frozen pregnancy
A postponed frozen pregnancy is a rather serious call to seriously plan the next pregnancy. It is very important to correctly determine the cause of the pathology that arose after the first conception and try to do everything possible so that it does not recur.
The first rule - after a postponed frozen pregnancy for six months (you can withstand an interval of up to a year), do not try to conceive a child. The fact is that the body of the fair sex, which could not become a mother, should relax, undergo rehabilitation and gain strength for a future pregnancy.
During the rehabilitation period, treatment should be carried out, its nature depends on the reason why the missed pregnancy occurred. The doctor may prescribe hormone therapy to restore balance, or limit the selection of vitamins necessary for the body.
Quite often, the cause of a missed pregnancy is a violation of the child’s genetics, if the specialist considered that this phenomenon was the reason for the development of pathology, both partners should undergo an examination before the next conception. It is not at all necessary that the husband or wife is sick, it is very important that their physiological parameters are compatible.
In preparation for the next pregnancy, studies are carried out for the presence in the partner organisms of all kinds of infections, including those that are sexually transmitted. An ultrasound examination of the genitals of the expectant mother is important. If any pathologies are identified, treatment should be started immediately and only after that one can think about the next conception.
It is possible that as a result of the study, partners will not find any pathologies, all analyzes will show the norm. In this case, it makes sense to talk about a random genetic error that occurred during the conception of the baby or the development of the fetus. The probability of such pathologies is extremely rare, therefore, in 99 percent of cases, the second pregnancy proceeds successfully and ends with the successful birth of a healthy offspring. At the same time, the female body should still be given a rest after severe stress associated with a missed pregnancy. Doctors say that the best prevention of a dead disease is a healthy lifestyle, which both future parents lead.
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