Chemical Pregnancy

If you have begun to miscarry, and hadn’t yet been able to hear your baby’s heartbeat with a doppler, your doctor might have said that you are having a chemical pregnancy.

This means that it’s a very early miscarriage.

Related: please read our Honoring Uncertainty

This very early miscarriage–or the name of it–doesn’t make your baby any less real. At 5 weeks gestation, just about the time you may have found out that you were pregnant, your baby was about the size of a sesame seed. And, at 5 weeks gestation, your tiny baby’s heart has already begun to beat. It’s just too small to be heard on a Doppler.

While identifying your baby at this stage is probably just not going to happen, because of everything that is delivered during the miscarriage, including uterine lining and lots of blood, your baby is real. Your feelings about your baby are real.

You will likely have a natural miscarriage, or natural delivery. Rarely, artificial induction or a D&C may be recommended. You can learn about these different birth methods here:

You are invited to share your story here as well: please remember that sharing your story at stillbirthday is a way to express your feelings and share your experiences with other mothers – it is not to diagnose, treat or answer any medical questions.

You might visit our farewell celebrations for ideas to celebrate your baby.

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BIRTH & BEREAVEMENT QUOTES

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She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum.

— Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.

— C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

I am strong.

— January, founder of Birth Without Fear

When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time—the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers. Gradually, you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes—when there’s a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she’s gone, forever—there comes another day, and another specifically missing part.

— John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite.

— Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

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BECOME A DOULA!

Enroll now in the Birth & Bereavement Doula® program!

We onboard enrolled students into the program by email invitation.

After tuition, you can email heidi.faith@stillbirthday.com directly to expedite this step. Alternatively, if you prefer fb communications, you can join us in Admissions.