Miscarriage anxiety – the first trimester

Miscarriage anxiety – the first trimester

*This is a post I wrote when I was 8 weeks pregnant*

I have heard people say some pretty amazing things to me in my life so far. ‘I am in love with you’ , ‘It’s a boy!’ , ‘I am so proud of you’ to mention just a few. Earlier this week I heard six little words from a complete stranger that made me feel the most relieved and happy I have ever felt. The words came from a lovely lady, I think she said her name was Kirsty, and up until she said them I had been on the verge of tears and full of fear for days. Kirsty is a lovely sonographer at the Early Pregnancy Unit in Singleton Hospital and what are these words she said, you may be wondering? The sentence that flooded my whole body with relief and caused a strange sob/laugh to escape from my mouth was this – ‘There’s a live baby in there’. A live baby! I had been bleeding on and off for about five days, the blood changing from small spots to a heavy enough flow to need the protection of a sanitary towel, in the hour we had been sitting in the hospital waiting room I was convinced I was going to be told I’d lost the baby by the time it was my turn to go and be scanned. I am currently 8 weeks and 5 days pregnant and for the past month and a half I have been full of anxiety that I am going to have a miscarriage.

Miscarriage anxiety – the first trimester 

Bleeding in early pregnancy is common, it is also really terrifying. The miscarriage statistics strike fear into the hearts of all mums to be, it doesn’t matter if you are expecting your first baby or your fifth. 1 in 4 pregnancies will end in miscarriage, those odds are heartbreaking and when it comes to pregnancy, you can’t just take it for granted that you are definitely going to be meeting your baby when you first see that extra line on your pregnancy test. Blood doesn’t always mean miscarriage though, you can bleed in early pregnancy for lots of reasons and for no apparent reason at all. Luckily for me, and also confusing for me, I have been bleeding for no apparent reason. My baby has a heartbeat, is developing well for my dates, Kirsty could see nothing wrong in my uterus and, although it’s still very early days, everything is ticking along nicely. When I first saw that deep red spot of blood in my underwear though, I didn’t stop to consider the fact bleeding is common in pregnancy, instead I cried myself to sleep that night and convinced myself my baby had died.

This pregnancy wasn’t planned, I was terrified when the pink line appeared on the test and I quickly slipped into a dark place. We weren’t supposed to have another baby, we were happy with the two children we already have, adding another baby into the mix wasn’t what we had planned for this stage in our lives. It took me a good two or three weeks to come around to the idea, for the fear to subside slightly and make space for excitement and joy. Once this happened, once I decided I was actually happy about this little surprise, a new kind of fear and anxiety set in. I became scared that I was going to have a miscarriage. No way could I be lucky enough to have three healthy babies. How, when 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, could I be confident my third pregnancy wasn’t going to end in heartbreak?

I have felt so sick these past five weeks. The feeling reminds of a really bad hangover, except it lasts for weeks on end and I haven’t drank a single drop of alcohol in months. I am so tired, so drained, my energy levels are lower than my iPhone battery that is permanently running on 2% power. I feel rubbish, to put it bluntly. But for each morning I wake up and feel sick before I have lifted my head off the pillow, for every afternoon I am fighting sleep at 3pm so I don’t miss the school run, I feel relief. If I still feel pregnant, then I am still pregnant. Morning sickness is horrible (and lasts all day, by the way) but atleast it is my little daily reminder than everything is still ok, my baby is still ok. If more than a few hours pass and I can’t remember the last time I felt nauseous, I start to panic that something terrible has happened. When the next wave of sickness crashes over me, I feel rotten and horribly unwell but it makes me happy too, an unpleasant but welcome reminder that all is well in utero.

pregnant woman miscarriage anxiety

Although I was still feeling sick, when Kirsty squirted the cold clear gel onto my belly and pressed down with the scan machine, I was convinced she would see nothing or she would see the baby but no flickering heartbeat. I lay on the narrow hospital bed and stared at the ceiling in the dimly lit room, following the curtain rail around the bed with my eyes and studying the tiles on the ceiling. The bleeding was getting heavier, I was convinced baby number three was gone. Ever since the first drop of blood appeared, despite the sickness and constant exhaustion, I had told myself this was going to be the end, how could it not be? ‘There’s a live baby in there’ , those words, I can remember exactly how she said them, the smile in her voice and the confidence she had with her findings. I was so happy and so relieved and so surprised, I was as sure as anything that this was not the news I was going to be given. Kirsty turned the monitor towards me so I could see, and there was our baby.

He or she looked like a baby! Ok, so it doesn’t have limbs yet and looks a bit extra-terrestrial but it has a little head and body and I have never been so happy to see anything in my life. There was a constant tiny flicker of white to grey in the middle of it’s body, the heartbeat. My baby’s heart was beating, what a beautiful sight. Now, every time that miscarriage anxiety creeps in, and despite the scan it does still creep in, I close my eyes and picture that tiny little baby with the flashing white and grey heartbeat. When the voice in my head starts shouting at me ‘1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage’ , I now let Kirsty’s voice shout ten times louder, her professional reassurance echoing around my brain – ‘There’s a live baby in there’.

Miscarriage anxiety, for me anyway, never really goes away. As all my pregnancies have progressed and morning sickness has subsided and baby kicks and a growing belly now inform me that everything is as it should be, there is still that worried voice in the back of my head reeling off statistics I’ve read about late miscarriage and still birth rates. The thing is, I have never had a miscarriage and I still feel this way, I can only imagine what the anxiety must be like for women who are pregnant again after loosing a baby in the past. The thought of a miscarriage is enough to fill me with fear, to have actually experienced it and then found the courage to get pregnant again amazes me. Women are so amazing and brave and strong.

I know you can never be fully sure how a pregnancy is going to go, nothing is certain when it comes to bringing a new life in to the world. I am sure though that I feel so much better after my visit to the Early Pregnancy Unit, we may not be completely out of the danger zone for an early miscarriage but I feel I now have something positive to think about whenever those worries about losing the baby show up. Miscarriage anxiety is something I experienced in all my pregnancies and I think it is a very common worry for mums to be. Try and think about the positives, don’t torture yourself with the statistics and if you are worried, speak to your midwife or offload your concerns to a caring and supportive ear. I know I am one of the lucky ones, not everyone will hear the news I received on their visit to the EPU but just remember, us women are amazing and brave and strong and, whatever happens, you will get through it. Don’t let the ‘what ifs’ take over.

Did you suffer with miscarriage anxiety in the first trimester? Do you have any useful coping strategies to share with other mums to be in the comments?

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coping with miscarriage anxiety during first trimester

If you found this post helpful and would like to read more, please stop by the mental health and pregnancy sections of my blog.

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20 Comments

  1. January 13, 2019 / 8:15 am

    I massively suffered my first pregnancy as a close friend had recently lost a baby close to term. I was a wreck the whole 9mths. Thankfully I have been incredibly lucky with both my pregnancies and not experienced a miscarriage.
    Amy – All about a Mummy recently posted…3 Essential Travel Hacks for Single ParentsMy Profile

  2. January 13, 2019 / 12:15 pm

    I was also worried sick when I was carrying my youngest and I had the added stress of my husband having a heart transplant. I can totally relate to feeling anxious, it’s only natural. x
    Jayne @ Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs recently posted…The Top 7 TagMy Profile

  3. January 13, 2019 / 8:11 pm

    Wonderful post. As a sufferer of anxiety I get the feeling I will be even more anxious when I fall pregnant.

  4. January 13, 2019 / 9:13 pm

    I can only imagine how anxious you must have been and more other women too, bleeding can be so scary in the 1st trimester.

  5. January 14, 2019 / 2:42 pm

    With my first two I didn’t get it…. then I had a miscarriage and with my fourth pregnancy I was horrendous, it didn’t help that I started bleeding about ten weeks. Thankfully it was unexplained and I went on to have a healthy baby boy but I will never forgot how terrifying it felt to think I was going to lose my baby again!
    Sonia recently posted…Biddulph Grange GardenMy Profile

  6. January 14, 2019 / 7:17 pm

    This sounds like a very real thing which I bet a lot of mothers experience. Great information in this post about what is common to expect and look out for.

  7. January 14, 2019 / 8:18 pm

    After having a miscarriage in my second pregnancy I definitely had anxiety with my third and fourth pregnancies. It’s hard when you can’t just relax and enjoy it.

  8. January 14, 2019 / 9:46 pm

    So pleased you got some lovely news, it’s such a worry if their OK in there. When I found out I was having twins, she said here is your first baby,…..then here is your second baby! The first thing that came out my mouth was ‘are they both OK’ you take a instant care and love to them don’t you
    Stephanie recently posted…A Forest Walk At Deerleap In The New ForestMy Profile

  9. January 16, 2019 / 7:15 am

    I know a lot of expectant mothers will have this anxiety, I can’t imagine how scary it must be. I’m not having children but I’m such an anxious person that I know I’d be wrecked with anxiety the whole time I was pregnant if I ever chose to.

    Katie xoxo

  10. January 21, 2019 / 3:17 pm

    I was the same. I never had any miscarriages, but was extremely anxious in the first trimester and actually throughout the pregnancy. My sister is a midwife, so I’d heard all the stories before I was even pregnant, of late miscarriages and still births. I was so superstitious that I would jinx things, that I didn’t even tell most people I was pregnant (except for immediate family and close friends) and didn’t make any public announcements until the baby was safely delivered.
    Jenni recently posted…New Year Countdown with KidsMy Profile

  11. January 28, 2019 / 8:48 pm

    Its so important to talk about this. I suffer terribly with anxiety around pregnancies, to the point its put me off trying for another baby because I feel too scared of what might go wrong xx
    Hayley McLean recently posted…Our Disneyland Paris DiariesMy Profile

  12. February 13, 2019 / 4:19 pm

    Miscarriages are never easy to deal with at any point during your pregnancy, whether at an early stage or very late. Thanks for this post. It will help someone.
    Miriam recently posted…Is Goat’s Milk Safe for Babies?My Profile

  13. Samantha
    November 21, 2019 / 5:29 pm

    I’m 7 weeks today with my second pregnancy. Made it 15 weeks with my first and had a silent miscarriage. My body was still behaving like I was pregnant because it hadn’t recognized that my son had no heartbeat so I can’t even feel the relief of having symptoms. I’m scared all the time and don’t know what to do cause my obgyn won’t see me until I’m 8 weeks. They scheduled my first appointment when I am 9 weeks though cause my Dr has a busy schedule….im just so scared…im trying to keep my mind busy but it’s not working

  14. Maranda
    February 13, 2020 / 12:28 am

    I went through a miscarriage in July of 2019 and I was exactly 8 weeks pregnant.Now it is February,7 months later, I am 8 weeks and terrified and positive at the same time.To cope with the anxiety of a recent miscarriage I like to talk to my little hippo(funny name I know).Reminding them everything is alright and they are safe and warm gives me comfort and hope that one day soon they will hear my voice and smile and one day i will see their face I’ve prayed to meet the whole time.Keep the positive.Otherwise you will stress out for what could most likely be no reason at all.

  15. February 13, 2020 / 8:38 am

    Thank you for sharing this. I have suffered two previous miscarriages at 8 weeks and 5weeks. I have no good experiences to compare a pregnancy to so my worry is extreme! I am now nearly 11weeks into my 3rd pregnancy, I had spotting at 7 weeks and feared the worst. I asked my husband how he could love me when I can’t do the one thing my body is meant to do and I went in on myself in pure panic of going through another loss. We had a scan a few days later and I too was so relieved to hear that baby was in there doing his or hers thing and growing nicely. We are now waiting for our 12week scan next week and I’m a mess. All my symptoms have stopped at about 9 weeks and I’m terrified we will find out that yet again I have failed. After reading your post I am going to think of the sonographer’s words of reassurance everytime my anxiety creeps in.