Miscarriage Statistics

• 40 percent of pregnancies detected by a blood test end in miscarriage, and 25 percent of pregnancies detected by a fetal heart beat end in miscarriage.
  
• Miscarriages are so common that researchers believe that as many as 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage if the earliest possible methods of detection were used and all miscarriages were reported to doctors.
  
• Doctors say that a woman is experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss if she has had three miscarriages, or two miscarriages in a row.
  
• The risk of miscarriage increases as a woman gets older. This is believed to be related to the quality of the eggs (as opposed to other physical factors), because pregnancies that result from eggs donated by younger women carry the miscarriage risk of the younger woman rather than the older surrogate.
  
• 1 in 20 couples who have recurrent pregnancy loss have chromosomal rearrangements or inversions that can contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss.
  These days, being diagnosed with recurrent pregnancy loss doesn't mean that you will never have a baby. Outcomes depend on the causes you have and the treatments you choose.
  
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Stillbirth Statistics

• One in every 150 births results in a stillborn. This number may be higher due to lack of consistent standard of stillbirth reporting.
  
• Worldwide, 4.5 million stillbirths occur each year. 12,000 women deliver a stillborn each day. (World Health Organization)
  
• In the U.S., of the 4 million births a year, there are 26,000 stillbirths. 70 women deliver a stillborn each day. (National Institutes of Health)
  
• Stillbirths per year roughly equal all infant deaths during first year of life. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  
• African-American women have more than twice the risk of stillbirth than that of white women. African-American women 35 years and older have a risk of stillbirth 4-5 times higher than the national average.
  
• 60% of fetal deaths happen after 28 weeks gestation. The majority of stillbirths occur at or near full term.
  
• Many stillbirths at term happen in otherwise healthy, low-risk pregnancies.
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Symptoms to Watch out For

Signs of a miscarriage.

• Strong cramps, abdominal pain
• Heavy bleeding
• Dull lower back pain
• Passing tissue. They will look like thick blood clots, or grayish tissues.

Signs of pre term labor

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, and they don't go away go to the hospital. Don't wait. If preterm labor is discovered early enough there are some things that the doctors can do to try to stop or slow the labor, and medicine can be given to the baby to help him or her breathe better if he or she is born premature.

• Contractions or cramps that feel strong like menstrual cramps. They maybe 10 minutes or closer. Contractions may even be painless like the baby is balling up inside, or you may feel the uterus gets hard and then soft.
• Bleeding, or it can be a muscousy discharge with a tinge of blood. Sometimes called "The Bloody Show".
• Swelling or puffiness of the face or hands, a sign of preeclampsia
• Abdominal cramps.
• You may or may not experience diarrhea.
• Vomiting (a sign of preeclampsia)
• A change or increase in watery or mucous discharge
• Either feeling a gush of watery fluid, or like you are leaking watery fluid.
• Low, dull backache - it can come and go constantly
• Pelvic pressure
• Feeling like the baby is very low.