As a pregnant woman, you may wonder how common a 12-week scan with no heartbeat is. What happens medically when there is no heartbeat at a 12-week scan? In the UK, how many women carry pregnancies with no heartbeat even during their 12-week scan?
A 12-week scan with no heartbeat is a ‘missed miscarriage’ and is not common. Where miscarriages occur in ten to twenty-five per cent of pregnancies, just one to five per cent are missed miscarriages. If a scan detects a baby’s heartbeat at eight weeks, the chances of a missed miscarriage are only two per cent. At ten weeks, it’s one percent.
This post extensively discusses how common a 12-week scan with no heartbeat is and why it might occur. Ensure you keep reading to the end to avoid missing any relevant information.
How Can You Tell if You Have a Missed Miscarriage?
A missed miscarriage can also be called a silent miscarriage because it happens without warning. In a missed miscarriage, the child in the womb suddenly dies but remains in there until physical symptoms or check-ups.
Doctors determine missed miscarriages through a routine prenatal visit. Your doctor will go through several steps before concluding. If no heartbeat is discovered at a 12-week ultrasound, there is a risk of miscarriage.
To be sure, the doctor will take some further precautions. More scans and tests will be necessary to confirm the loss because the pregnancy’s timing may be off.
12-Week Scan with No Heartbeat: How Common is It?
Do you want to know whether you have every right to be nervous about the state of the baby you carry? You might ask, “How common is a 12-week scan no heartbeat?”. The good news is that this situation is very rare.
Ten to twenty-five per cent of women confirmed to be pregnant encounter miscarriages. Missed miscarriages account for roughly one to five per cent of all pregnancies; thus, they aren’t common.
The pregnancy began normally in the majority of miscarriages. During the first-trimester check-up, which takes place between eleven and fourteen weeks of pregnancy, a missed miscarriage is commonly identified. When a heartbeat is found during the eight-week check-up, the chances of a miscarriage drop to just two per cent.
After ten weeks, the probability declines to less than one per cent. A missed miscarriage can be discovered during a 12-week pregnancy test; however, the chances are much lower at that stage.
Causes of a Missed Miscarriage
The principal reason behind a missed miscarriage is a chromosomal abnormality that renders the embryo unviable. It’s also worth mentioning that extreme actions like smoking or heavy drug and alcohol usage may also contribute sometimes.
Miscarriage risk is raised by maternal age, physical defects in the uterus, and poorly treated health conditions such as thyroid problems.
Conclusion
Now you have answers to the questions about a 12-week scan with no heartbeat and how common it is. You should realise that you have no reason to worry about anything. As long as you’re not engaging in the actions stated earlier, there are slim chances of a missed miscarriage.