What are the Chances of Miscarriage at 11 Weeks?
Are you 11 weeks pregnant? Do you know that at this time your baby is now almost entirely formed? Your gas and bloating symptoms are now waning as your belly is now starting to develop into a full on the baby bump. You might also get scared when you look at your belly and wonder if anything bad might happen to your baby. What if you miscarry? What are the chances of a miscarriage at 11 weeks? All these questions might come up in your mind.
When you are pregnant, you are on an incredible journey whose results are so great that you would be willing to go through it all over again. The feeling of holding your bundle of joy in your arms is one of the most beautiful feelings you could ever experience. The moment you hear your baby’s first heartbeat using a stethoscope or when you go for an ultrasound, that is when you will come to realize the gravity of the situation.
That is when it will dawn on you that you are actually carrying a life inside you. Before we look at your chances of having a miscarriage at 11 weeks, let’s first define what a miscarriage is and what causes it.
A miscarriage is usually defined as a spontaneous loss of a baby in the first 20 weeks. A miscarriage is usually the most common form of pregnancy loss. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly 15 percent of all pregnancies usually end in a miscarriage.
However, some experts believe that this figure could be much higher. This is because some women end up losing their babies through miscarriages even before they know they are pregnant.
What Can Cause a Miscarriage at 11 Weeks?
Although having a miscarriage is a topic that most pregnant mothers usually don’t wish to talk about, sometimes you may find yourself wondering about the what “ifs”. “What if I miscarry?” You may wonder. The chances are that you would like to know what can make you lose your baby through a miscarriage.Why don’t we explore some of the common causes of miscarriage?
Chromosomal Abnormalities
According to Bryan Cowan, a medical doctor, chromosomal abnormalities usually account for around 60% of all miscarriages. Dr Bryan Cowan chairs the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Mississippi. He says that chromosomal abnormalities usually arise when the chromosomes are mismatched.
Chromosomes are very important since they are what carry our genes. They are usually located in our cells. As humans, we have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 2 of which we get from our mothers and fathers. Sometimes when fertilization occurs, the chromosomes might fail to line up properly. The resulting embryo might end up with chromosomal abnormalities. The pregnancy will as a result end in a miscarriage.
What You Can Do
If you have been unfortunate to have had a miscarriage before, now that you are pregnant again, you should be patient. This is because the odds are strongly in your favor that you will carry on with your pregnancy until you deliver a healthy baby. However, should you miscarry again, then it’s important that you undergo chromosomal testing.
Uterine Abnormalities
Sometimes a miscarriage can occur as a result of the shape of your uterus. If your uterus is abnormally shaped or if it is divided, you are likely to have a miscarriage. If your uterus is divided, you can miscarry becausethe embryo will be unable to get the nourishments that it needs to survive.
If your uterus is abnormally shaped, you can miscarry since the embryo will be unable to get implanted in your uterus.
What You Can Do
This problem can only be discovered easily when you have had recurrent miscarriages or when your pregnancy is underway. Good news is that if you have a divided uterus, also known as auterine septum, it can be corrected through surgery.
Immunological disorders
Sometimes your body can treat the fertilized embryo as a foreign object. Your body will, therefore, produce antibodies that will fight the embryo to destroy it. This is what will result in you losing the baby through a miscarriage. This usually occurs mostly in women that have untreated diabetes and thyroid problems.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
This is usually one of the leading causes of recurrent miscarriages in women today. If you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, you will have irregular menstruation and ovulation. This is because of the level of the male hormone testosterone. You can also develop insulin resistance due to PCOS. This can prevent your endometrial lining from maturing properly.
What You Can Do
If you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, you can get treatment by taking oral antidiabetic drugs. This can successfully reduce the chances of miscarriage.
Bacterial Infections
Many microorganisms live in the male and female reproductive tracts harmlessly and sometimes helpfully. However, certain bacteriacan cause problems in our reproductive tracts. Some bacteria can increase your risk of suffering a miscarriage.
Some of these bacteria living in the female reproductive tract can cause your endometrial lining to be inflamed. It will, therefore, be impossible for the embryo to develop. This is what will lead to a miscarriage. However, these bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics.
Lifestyle
Your lifestyle can also put you at risk of having a miscarriage. For instance, if you are a smoker, your chances of losing your baby through a miscarriage are twice that one of a non-smoker. Drinking too many alcoholic beverages as well will also make you to be at a higher risk of having a miscarriage.
What You Can Do
Before you decide to have a baby, you should give up all your deleterious habits. If you are a smoker, then you should quit smoking so that you can have a healthy baby. You should also quit drinking alcohol or any other drugs that can affect the success of your pregnancy.
Chances of a Miscarriage at 11 Weeks
The chances of losing your baby at 11 weeks are 2%. As your gestation advances, the risk of having a miscarriage further reduces. Once you are past 20 weeks of pregnancy, the chances of having a miscarriage would have significantly dropped.
Symptoms of a Miscarriage
Vaginal bleeding and spotting are the main symptoms of a miscarriage. Abdominal pain and cramps can sometimes accompany this bleeding. However, sometimes this is not always the case. You may pass dark or red blood through your vagina. The blood might be light or heavy.
The spotting or bleeding can come once and heavy or it can be continuous for days or even weeks. Therefore, if you notice any unusual bleeding when you are pregnant, especially when you are 11 weeks, you should seek your doctor’s attention.
Conclusion
What are the chances of miscarriage at 11 weeks? The answer is that you have a 2% chance or even less than that of having a miscarriage at this point of your pregnancy. As your pregnancy continues, the chances of a miscarriage will be dropping. You should, therefore, do your best to ensure that you carry on with your pregnancy till the end.
You can do this by going for an ultrasound scan to determine if you don’t have any abnormalities with your uterus. You can also change your lifestyle to one that is suitable for pregnancy by quitting alcohol and smoking.
