Did I Have a Miscarriage?
Question
Dear CANFP Expert,
I have been using NFP to achieve pregnancy, and I started my period today. It started with a few large clots, then nothing for a while. Then, a few hours later, I changed my tampon and tissue came out with it. It shocked me, so I looked closer to make sure it wasn’t a clot. It appears to be a few 2x1inch pieces of tissue. I’ve never had anything like that before. Do you think I may have miscarried? Pregnancy test yesterday was negative. Didn’t have any menstrual symptoms until this morning when I had a few cramps. Cramps now are pretty bad, but typical for my first two days of period. Should I be worried about this at all?
Concerned
Answer
Last Updated: June 14, 2013
You cannot diagnose pregnancy from inspection of menstrual flow unless you see a formed fetus, or the tissue is submitted for microscopic analysis.
Formed clot and uterine lining do not look very different from degenerated fetal or placental tissue. You need to see chorionic villae under the microscope (even decidual reaction can be from hormones alone), or a positive serum or urine pregnancy test. Periods like this are not counted as a pregnancy without laboratory confirmation. It sounds like you just had a heavy period. These can occur from anovulation, low progesterone, or low thyroid. I would only worry if the flow were extremely heavy like hemorrhage, or exceeded seven days on a regular basis. If you suspect you have recurrent early miscarriages, obtain an early serum pregnancy test just before or just as the period is beginning.
Dr. Mary Davenport
Formed clot and uterine lining do not look very different from degenerated fetal or placental tissue. You need to see chorionic villae under the microscope (even decidual reaction can be from hormones alone), or a positive serum or urine pregnancy test. Periods like this are not counted as a pregnancy without laboratory confirmation. It sounds like you just had a heavy period. These can occur from anovulation, low progesterone, or low thyroid. I would only worry if the flow were extremely heavy like hemorrhage, or exceeded seven days on a regular basis. If you suspect you have recurrent early miscarriages, obtain an early serum pregnancy test just before or just as the period is beginning.
Dr. Mary Davenport
Answered By:
Mary Davenport, MD, MS
Mary Davenport, MD, FACOG, an obstetrician/gynecologist from the Oakland Region of California, offers telehealth services over MyCatholicDoctor.com She graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her residency at UC San Diego. Dr. Davenport is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and serves on the Advisory Board of the California Association of Natural Family Planning.
