Signs of a frozen pregnancy. How to find out about a frozen pregnancy before an ultrasound

A frozen pregnancy is one of the types of miscarriage, in which the intrauterine development of the fetus stops. This happens most often in the first trimester, much less often in the second and third. At the same time, a woman may not notice for a long time that the embryo has stopped in development.

Therefore, today we decided to tell you about the first signs of a frozen pregnancy.

The content of the article:

How to determine a frozen pregnancy in time?

In each trimester of pregnancy, the growth and development of the fetus depends on many factors (explicit and implicit). Sometimes it happens that an accidental coincidence of circumstances can lead to a stop in the development of the fetus. This is what is called a frozen pregnancy in modern medicine. How do you recognize it?

This pathology has rather accurate symptoms, so doctors can make a similar diagnosis without much difficulty.

The most important symptom is, of course, that any signs of pregnancy completely disappear… But in no case should you cheat yourself and make such a diagnosis yourself.

If you have any doubts, immediately see your obstetrician-gynecologist… He will examine you and will do an ultrasound… Only after that the whole picture will become clear: whether the child has stopped developing, or is it just your nerves are naughty.

The most certain symptoms of a frozen pregnancy

Unfortunately, in the early stages, there are no obvious signs of pregnancy fading. Such a diagnosis can be made after undergoing ultrasound…

A woman may feel that toxicosis, gastronomic whims, pain in the mammary glands, etc. have abruptly stopped. But this does not mean that there is no more pregnancy.

A similar diagnosis can only be made by a gynecologist after conducting an examination and identifying the following symptoms:

• The fetus has no heartbeat;
• The size of the uterus is less than it should be at a given stage of pregnancy;
• The level of hCG in the blood of a pregnant woman has decreased

Signs of a missed pregnancy in the early stages

• Toxicosis disappeared. For women suffering from severe toxicosis, this fact will certainly cause excitement. Then you felt bad in the morning, you were sick from pungent odors, and suddenly everything returned to normal. But the second trimester is still quite a long way off.
• Mammary gland stop hurting and become softer. All women can notice these manifestations of a frozen pregnancy. The chest stops hurting 3-6 days after the death of the fetus.
• Bloody issues. This clear sign of miscarriage can only appear after several weeks have passed after the death of the fetus. Sometimes a small brownish discharge may appear and then disappear. In such cases, women often think, “carried over”, but the fetus is no longer developing.
• Headache, weakness, fever (above 37.5), mild nausea – these symptoms are a bit similar to toxicosis, however, some women observed them as early as 3-4 weeks after the pregnancy froze. This is due to the fact that the decay products of the embryo enter the bloodstream.
• Decrease in basal temperature – women who are very worried about their unborn baby can continue to measure basal temperature even after pregnancy. Most often, in the first trimester of pregnancy, the temperature is about 37 degrees, when it freezes, it drops sharply, because the body stops producing hormones necessary for the development of the embryo.

But, unfortunately, not only in the first trimester of pregnancy, the embryo can stop developing, but also on later lines… If we talk about miscarriage, then the risk persists until 28 weeks.

Therefore, we will tell you about the signs of a frozen pregnancy at a later date, because every expectant mother should know them.

Symptoms of a frozen pregnancy at a later date

• Cessation or absence of fetal movements. Usually, women begin to feel weak jolts of the baby at 18-20 weeks of pregnancy. From that moment on, doctors recommend carefully monitoring the frequency of the baby’s movements. More than 10 times a day is ideal. The number of movements will decrease, maybe only before childbirth, since the child is already large and there is not enough space for him. So, if you do not feel the baby’s pushes for several hours, go to the hospital urgently. At first, this may be a sign of hypoxia (lack of oxygen), and if urgent measures are not taken, then pregnancy will fade.
• The mammary glands have decreased in size, tension disappeared in them, they softened. After intrauterine death of the baby, the mammary glands become soft for 3-6 days. This sign is very informative before the mother begins to feel the baby’s movements.
• Fetal heartbeat cannot be heard… Of course, this symptom can be precisely determined only by ultrasound. However, after 20 weeks, the doctor can independently check the baby’s heartbeat using a special obstetric stethoscope. An independent pregnant woman cannot check this sign in any way.

No specialist will give you precise recommendations on how to identify a frozen pregnancy at home. However, if you develop any of the above symptoms, visit your obstetrician-gynecologist…
We talked with women who faced a similar problem, and they told us that they began to worry during a frozen pregnancy.

Reviews of women

Masha:
In the later stages, the main indicator is the absence of fetal movements. And in the first trimester, a frozen pregnancy can only be determined by a doctor and an ultrasound scan.

Lucy:
I went to my doctor when I began to feel very bad, I had a constant headache, and my temperature rose. It was then that I was told this terrible diagnosis “missed pregnancy.” And poor health, because the intoxication of the body began.

Lida:
The first sign of fading in the early stages is the cessation of toxicosis. Pain in the chest disappears, and it stops swelling. Then there is pain in the lower back and lower abdomen, bloody discharge.
Natasha: I had a freeze at 11 weeks of pregnancy. Cloudy discharge with an unpleasant odor made me go to the doctor. And also my body temperature dropped dramatically, up to 36 degrees.

Read also about the causes of a missed pregnancy.