What is a Chemical Pregnancy?

If you’ve been waiting to get pregnant, losing a pregnancy, no matter when or how it happens, is incredibly difficult. In some cases, a miscarriage can happen even before you find out you’re pregnant, and this can be quite confusing. Many women feel like they’re mourning the loss of something they never had in the first place. 

Sometimes, this miscarriage can happen due to a chemical pregnancy, which is a very early pregnancy. But what causes a chemical pregnancy? 

Key Takeaways

• Chemical pregnancies are pregnancies where a miscarriage occurs before the pregnancy appears on an ultrasound, typically at or before five weeks of gestation.
• The causes of a chemical pregnancy can be hard to pinpoint, and the exact cause of any specific case is rarely ever discovered.
• While there are typically few physical side effects of a chemical pregnancy, the psychological effects can be severe and may require counseling to navigate their feelings about the miscarriage.

What Is a Chemical Pregnancy?

A chemical pregnancy, sometimes called a biochemical pregnancy, is a miscarriage that occurs when the fetus stops developing very early, usually within five weeks after implantation. This pregnancy loss makes up for most losses occurring before 20 weeks of gestation. 

Chemical pregnancy gets its name from the different chemicals or hormones that develop in your body around the 5th week of pregnancy. They happen before the pregnancy can be seen on an ultrasound, which means that many women who have them don’t even realize they are pregnant. 

Your placenta produces the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (or hCG), which supports your body while your baby develops. Enough hCG in the system results in positive pregnancy tests in urine and blood tests. During a chemical pregnancy, your hCG levels will drop. 

Implantation Bleeding vs. a Chemical Pregnancy

Light spotting or bleeding that happens during pregnancy doesn’t automatically equate to a chemical pregnancy. Some women experience light bleeding during implantation. Nevertheless, any heavy bleeding accompanied by cramps may indicate a miscarriage. Therefore, any form of bleeding when you're aware that you are pregnant should be reported to your doctor. 

Chemical Pregnancy vs Early Miscarriage

An early miscarriage is a first-trimester miscarriage that happens in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It accounts for most miscarriages, including a chemical pregnancy, a missed miscarriage, or an incomplete miscarriage. 

Why Does a Chemical Pregnancy Happen?

It’s important to remember that no one really knows why a chemical pregnancy happens. In a chemical pregnancy:

• The embryo fails to implant properly on the uterine wall. 
• The sperm or egg has too many chromosomes or not enough.
• The female partner suffers from untreated thyroid conditions
• The female partner has uterine abnormalities or cervical issues

Early pregnancy losses can be caused by chromosomal abnormalities. The egg and sperm both have 23 chromosomes each and, when combined, contain 46 chromosomes. However, if there are some abnormalities with these chromosomes, it can lead to pregnancy loss. 

Other factors that can cause a chemical pregnancy include:

• Being advanced in age
• Being underweight or overweight 
• Having a uterus that is an atypical shape 
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Untreated diabetes
• Endometriosis
• Uterine fibroids
• A sexually transmitted infection

No matter the cause, there may not be anything wrong with you, and it doesn’t mean you can’t go on to have a healthy baby later down the line.

Signs of Chemical Pregnancy

Since they occur very early, chemical pregnancies can be difficult to diagnose. Some women may not even be aware they had conceived in the first place. Common chemical pregnancy signs include:

• Heavy bleeding 
• Intense cramps
• A positive pregnancy test accompanied by a heavy period later
• A positive pregnancy test that tests negative a week later
• A positive pregnancy test without any pregnancy symptoms
• Declining hCG levels 

Because chemical pregnancies typically resolve without physical complications, many go unnoticed or unreported.

Chemical Pregnancies and IVF 

Unfortunately, the chances of a chemical pregnancy can be higher with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Experiencing a chemical pregnancy after undergoing infertility treatments is certainly disheartening, and you may want to completely quit future IVF cycles.  This is why it is crucial to talk with your doctor concerning your chances of successful conception and whether another round of IVF is advised.

Statistics indicate that chemical pregnancy rates tend to be higher during IVF treatment. For this reason, Ivy Fertility closely monitors its IVF patients, and the chance of diagnosing chemical pregnancies will be higher.

Can I Prevent a Chemical Pregnancy?

There’s nothing you can do to prevent a chemical pregnancy, as this can happen without any cause. Nevertheless, there are some steps you can take to decrease your risks by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and avoiding drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. You can also manage any chronic conditions you have, like diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or high blood pressure. 

Many people who experience a chemical pregnancy still manage to carry healthy babies to term, and having one also doesn’t mean that you have infertility issues. As already mentioned, chemical pregnancies are quite common and are not a sign of fertility concerns.

Chemical Pregnancy Treatment

Chemical pregnancies happen very early and, in most cases, resolve on their own. There’s no treatment for a chemical pregnancy, and unless there are complications, you will physically recover quickly. 

Many who face a chemical pregnancy mostly struggle with the emotional aspect.  The sense of grief and loss can be overwhelming for some. Therefore, it is the psychological and emotional healing that may take some time, especially if you are aware of the pregnancy.

Don’t underplay what you’re feeling. These feelings are normal, and everyone deals with loss in their own way, whether you know it or not. Conversely, it’s also okay to not feel upset, and whatever your feelings, you might find it helpful to talk to a professional to help you walk you through the process. 

Final Thoughts

A chemical pregnancy can be really difficult to understand since it happens very early in the pregnancy. To make it more confusing, a chemical pregnancy can feel a little bit like a very heavy period. Even so, losing a pregnancy so early might leave you with lots of questions, so it’s important to lean on your support system and ask your healthcare provider all questions if they will help you to better process the loss. Remember, this loss like this is not your fault.