Once you see the heartbeat....?

[clarissa215]

Once you see the heartbeat, does that mean the chance of miscarriage drops a lot?

I just wonder, I am so happy to see that little flicker, but i still don't feel very pregnant besides some sore breasts, so strange to me....therefor i am still so worried.

Whats your experience?

[jennica]

Once you get into the second trimester (past 12 weeks) then your risk of miscarriage is greatly reduced. If you see the heartbeat before that time, I don't think it would have any relevance on your risk factors for miscarriage.

[TeaJunkie]

I know how hard it is to feel normal when you're pregnant! I was stressed the entire 1st tri with DS, right up until I could feel him move (17 weeks, I think). Therefore, I won't tell you that it's silly to worry now, because I felt the same way even after hearing and seeing the heartbeat! Everything I have heard says that the chances of miscarriage drop dramatically once you see the heartbeat.

I thought I would be less worried to feel so normal with my second pregnancy. Nope. Still wondering and worrying.

I hope all your worries will melt away once you start feeling kicks...mine did!

Congrats on seeing that wonderful little flicker!!

[MacKinnon]

I have had three losses, and I have been told by my OB that after you see the heartbeat the chance of miscarriage drops dramatically, depending on what statistics you choose, I've heard it's 2 to 10% after you see the heartbeat. Best luck!

[MaerynPearl]

Its not after you see it... its after you hear it. Because you can see it at 6 weeks and still have a pretty high chance of losing it later... but once its strong enough to hear on a doppler, your chances are much lower.

[WaitingForKiddos]

The chance of loss for a woman with no history of losses, or a history of loss that is unlikely to repeat is about 20-30% before week 8. After week 8, with a normal heart beat, the chance of loss is about 5-10 % depending on how those 8 weeks went...bleeding or hormone issues. After week 12 with the heartrate still in a normal variance and no other complications or previous complications resolved, the risk goes down to about 3-5%.

Biggest risky time, statistic wise, is from weeks 2 (implantation) to week 8.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by WaitingForKiddos

The chance of loss for a woman with no history of losses, or a history of loss that is unlikely to repeat is about 20-30% before week 8. After week 8, with a normal heart beat, the chance of loss is about 5-10 % depending on how those 8 weeks went...bleeding or hormone issues. After week 12 with the heartrate still in a normal variance and no other complications or previous complications resolved, the risk goes down to about 3-5%.

Biggest risky time, statistic wise, is from weeks 2 (implantation) to week 8.

But I would say that the 'risk' goes down after seeing/hearing a heartbeat. A large percent of the pregnancies ending in miscarriage are pregnancies that weren't viable to begin with. ie: blighted ovum, ectopic, etc.....So once you see a baby in your uterus with a strong heartbeat, it means things are progressing as they should so far. So you've now just eliminated all those other factors. There is still a chance of miscarriage of course. But for me, seeing the baby growing with a beating heart put my mind at ease.

[CherryBomb]

Once you're able to hear it on the doppler the chances of m/c go down significantly. But it still happens (unfortunatley I know from experience). But in general you can relax after hearing it.

[ProtoLawyer]

Keep in mind also, once you see the heartbeat, you know that it's not a blighted ovum, molar, or ectopic, so in a way those chances of loss are gone.

[clarissa215]

Thank you all for all that great info

[NWmt_mama]

Your chances drop even more after you can hear it with a doppler. Don't worry too much about your symptoms and congratulations on your pregnancy!

I saw the heartbeat at 7 weeks and still had a miscarriage with my first pregnancy, even after I was told that the rate had dropped. WaitingforKiddos stats are right on.

Congratulations again!