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Can pregnancy be lost without a woman knowing it?

Please help! My wife was pregnant but then 9 weeks into the pregnancy she started getting period like symptoms exactly the time she would have her regular period. She told me she thinks she is having a miscarriage and the next day she went to get the ultrasound and blood work done.
When we went to see the doctor the next day ultrasound results showed that she is no longer pregnant but her HCG hormone level was <2 which means that she was not pregnant for a while. Doctor said that it would take approximately 4 weeks to return to that level.
That was not a planned pregnancy and my fear that she did an abortion without discussing it with me.
She is saying that the fetus could have been dead for a while and that she for some reason stopped filling that she is pregnant couple weeks ago and that dead fetus just came out when her period started and that is why her hormone level is back to normal.
Please tell me if anything like that is possible?
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Avatar universal
Trust your wife! It's unfortunate but yes, possible. Sorry for your loss :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hello to all.two midwives told me that im on early pregnancy yet i got three negative pregnancy test..i just want to ask,how would i know if i am..i had a headache,oily skin,fatigue,lower abdominal pain,yellowish discharge and now im 3 days delayed but im having cramp like premenstrual pain..does anyone tell me what is this?am i pregnant or not?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
its called a  missed miscaraige i personally went through one & i m/c at 12 weeks . with an 8 week size fetus.
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Avatar universal
If she had an abortion she wouldve had bleeding right afterwards. And depending on what kind of abortion she had you wouldve noticed something..grogginess from the sedation, bleeding something that wouldve raised red flags. I had a friend and her sister did the abortion pill at home. She said her sister woke up screaming and crying from the pain. We all understand your concern but it is very possible she lost the pregnancy and never knew and now her body is getting back to normal. The best of luck to you and your wife.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. The only other thing that is odd is that the bleeding started on exactly the date of her regular period. So my fear was that she had an abortion a while ago, back when we just found out that she was pregnant (around Feb 2) and that is when or around the time that she could have done it and that would explain the hormone level and right now she could be just having her normal period.
Helpful - 0
202436 tn?1326474333
This is just a theory and I don't know if it's medically possible, i suppose it could be.  

The embryo/fetus could have stopped developing around 3-4 weeks ago, causing her body to stop producing HCG...this would in turn cause the HCG levels to continue to drop over the next few weeks.  BUT her body didnt' actually begin the process of expelling the pregnancy until the other day..when you said she was spotting, then bleeding.  Since the ultrasound wasn't until. AFTER she had the bleeding it's possible she had already eliminated all the products of conception.  Miscarriages don't typically take very long.  I had one where the bleeding only lasted 2 days.    I'm guessing it could be that on one hand her body knew the baby was no longer developing and stopped producing the HCG but on the other hand, it wasn't until the HCG Was completely eliminated that her body triggered the uterus to expel it's contents.

I hope that makes sense.  I also hope that you get the answers you need when you see the GYN next week.  

I think that if she had an abortion the bleeding wouldn't have occured the way it did and it would have happened right after the abortion was performed.  IF she had JUST had an abortion within the last several days, her HCG level wouldn't have dropped that fast.  Honestly, based on what you have described it doesn't sound to ME like that is what happened.  It sounds more like the pregnancy was no longer viable, yet at the same time her body wasn't fully recognizing that fact.
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Avatar universal
She started spotting, then the next night she was bleeding and in the morning she went to do the ultrasound and blood work. Later that day we went to check the results and doctor told us that ultrasound does not show that she is pregnant(that was walk-in clinic). That is all he said and he added that it is normal for a miscarriage. Then when we were about to leave the blood work results came in and it showed <2 HCG level meaning that she is not pregnant(for a while)
That is what so confusing to me. If she lost that baby 3-4 weeks ago, would her hormone level start dropping right then and is now at <2. Is it normal? It is as if she was never pregnant her hormone level and ultrasound confirms that. But she was.
We are going to see gynecologist next week and I hope he will explain all of it, I just hope it is not something I do not want to hear.
Helpful - 0
202436 tn?1326474333
I'd like to the OP (Andrew1971) to clarify something for all of us.

When she had her ultrasound the other day you said it showed she was no longer pregnant.  Am I right in assuming that meant that she had NO  embryo/fetus, gestational sac or yolk sac present?  That the doctor was saying she had ALREADY expelled all of the products of the pregnancy?

IF that is the case then she would have bled previously inlucing passing clots and having severe cramps...she wouldn't be bleeding JUST now, AFTER she had already expelled the pregnancy.  
Helpful - 0
187316 tn?1386356682
That's because during twin pregnancies the baby is reabsorbed. I don't think he is trying to be a jerk but actually really concerned.
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1537569 tn?1334808262
I think what you are asking is kinda a loaded question every women is different. I do know that if she lost the baby 4 weeks before her period there is know way. If her body did not know what was happening then she would have had to have a D&C. If her body would  have waited that long she would have got an infection from the dead fetus that is why they do D&C is so there is know complications. She had to have been spotting or bleeding or had a huge clot. I would ask a doctor tho just call and ask a general question or there are forums were you talk to a doctor they answer your Q not just a bunch of women who think they know what we are talking about and every opinion is different you will never know for sure unless you ask a doc.....
Helpful - 0
187316 tn?1386356682
I had a miscarriage and didn't know until a 9 week ultrasound said the baby was only measuring 6 weeks. I ended up having a D&C performed to remove the baby and it took 4 weeks for my levels to drop down to 0 and another 2 weeks after that to get my period.
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202436 tn?1326474333
It IS possible that she is just now bleeding.  BUT it's my understanding and experience that the HCG levels wouldn't  drop to non-pregnancy levels until the products of conception are eliminated from the body either by d & c or by natural miscarriage.  I suppose it's possible though.  

I had a miscarriage at 9 wks and didn't find out until what was supposed to be my 12 week check up that the baby had no heartbeat.  I waited another 2 weeks and still did not bleed so I had a d & c performed.  I don't know what my HCG levels were though becuase they didn't check them.
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Avatar universal
Yes it is possible my sister lost her baby at 4 weeks and didnt know until her 12 week scan she then started bleeding a little while later
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Avatar universal
Basically based on her HCG level she is now not pregnant for a while (3-4 weeks) for it to drop to <2. The blood test shows that for 1-3 month (witch she should have been) the normal level is 5.000 - 200.000.
My question then is - could she have lost the baby 3-4 weeks ago but started bleeding only now. And is it just a coincidence that it happened on exactly the day her normal period should have started. Basically right now she could be having her normal period not a miscarriage because she is now not pregnant for 3-4 weeks? Thanks
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
She missed one period. We did the pregnancy test 3 time and all of them were positive.
Basically based on her HCG level she is now not pregnant for a while (3-4 weeks) for it to drop to <2. The blood test shows that for 1-3 month (witch she should have been) the normal level is 5.000 - 200.000.
My question then is - could she have lost the baby 3-4 weeks ago but started bleeding only now. And is it just a coincidence that it happened on exactly the day her normal period should have started. Basically right now she could be having her normal period not a miscarriage because she is now not pregnant for 3-4 weeks? Thanks
Helpful - 0
202436 tn?1326474333
It is possible to have an early miscarriage without knowing it.  However, if there is no longer a fetus inside her, then she would have had to bleed.  Based on the information you have provided, she should have bled approximately 4 - 5 weeks ago.  Now if the fetus is still inside of her it's possible she could have had a missed miscarriage..meaning she miscarried but her body didn't expell anything on it's own-in that case the doctor wuold have recommended she have a d & c performed.  


If she had her period then most likely she was NOT pregnant at the time she had it OR it wasn't a period, it was a miscarriage.  When did she have a positive pregnancy test and how far along was she at the time?
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Avatar universal
Yes this can happen. It is called a "missed miscarriage" when the embryo dies without anyone knowing it. When the embryo dies the pregnancy hormone (hCG) will begin to plummet and when this happens the woman will begin to bleed and pass the baby. Some women miscarry right away and others take a few weeks. I don't know if it is healthy to accuse her of abortion if she truly is miscarrying. This will be very difficult for her and she needs your support, not suspicion. Good luck to you both!
Helpful - 0
1194973 tn?1385503904
When did her period start. Hormone levels don't just drop overnight, so if it just recently did it sounds a little odd. If it did weeks ago and that's when she lost the baby, it also looks odd as to why she didn't say anything then. It is possible to experience a missed miscarriage where the baby dies and the mother doesn't know, but in this case if she saw the baby pass then she did know. Well actually...if she's only 9 weeks and this happened weeks ago there wouldn't have been almost anything there but tissue since she wouldn't have been far along.  
Helpful - 0
99627 tn?1301270952
Yes. Fetus can stop growing without woman knowing and It can take a while for a woman's body to  realise it and start bleeding.

Good luck
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