How to Treat a Chemical Pregnancy

Finding out you miscarried before even knowing you were pregnant can be a huge shock. Finally getting that positive pregnancy test after months of trying, only to test a week later and get a negative result can be devastating. While there aren't any official treatments for a chemical pregnancy, there are ways to cope with the loss and prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy in the future.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Cope at your own pace. The hardest part of a chemical pregnancy, for those who are trying to conceive, is the extreme excitement followed by the shock and disappointment of dealing with a miscarriage.
2. See your doctor to confirm the miscarriage and to be sure that you're hCG levels (the hormone is detected in a positive pregnancy) have returned to normal.
3. Discuss the need for dilatation and curettage (D&C) with your doctor. This outpatient procedure is performed at the hospital using anesthesia while the uterus is dilated and the lining scraped to remove all traces of conception. While choosing to have a D&C is completely a personal choice, one of the benefits is that the cells the doctor removes can be sent to a lab for chromosomal testing to rule out biological complications. This option is ideal for women who have had multiple miscarriages.
4. Wait at least one menstrual cycle before trying to conceive again. Women who experience a chemical pregnancy typically have bleeding for 4 to 5 days, on average. However, you shouldn't be concerned if you experience bleeding up to 2 weeks. During this time you should not use tampons or have sex. Some doctors recommend waiting up to 3 menstrual cycles before trying to get pregnant again. Talk to your doctor about the best option for you.
5. Prepare yourself emotionally. Before trying to get pregnant again, make sure you're emotionally ready. Women who've experienced a miscarriage say they always have the fear of it happening again in the back of their mind. This constant fear can be cumbersome, so be sure you have a healthy and strong support system to help you cope with your concerns.