Pre-production.

Background Information:

-Miscarriage is the most common type of pregnancy loss.

-10-25% of recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage

-Chemical pregnancies may account for 50-75% of all miscarriages, this occurs when the pregnancy is lost shortly after implantation, bleeding occurs around the time of an expected period. Many women don't realize they are pregnant at this point.

-Most miscarriages occur during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

-Spontaneous abortion is the medical term for a pregnancy that ends on it's own.

-Most common cause for miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities but are not limited to this.

-The chances of having a miscarriage in most healthy women is about 15-20%.

-Miscarriage is often not a single event, but a process.

*Statistics

-There are approximately 6 million pregnancies every year throughout the United States.

-4,058,000 live births.

-1,995,840 pregnancy losses.

Of the 2 million women experiencing loss,

-600,000 = miscarriage

-64,000 = ectopic

-6,000 = molar pregnancy

-26,000 = stillbirth

-1,200,000 = termination; for many reasons

Taken from :

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/miscarriage.html

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/main/statistics.html

What no one told you about miscarriage:

It can actually happen to you.

It can happen to anyone, even the healthiest of women.

You're mother's friend or cousin's neighbor or someone connected to you has also experienced a loss.

That kind of loss is no easier than any other death. It is death.

It will be hard, it will be the hardest thing for some women.

Everyone will say what they think is best but unless they have experienced it, what they say will probably hurt you.

Many of those that congratulated you will not apologize for the loss.

After a few weeks, people will expect you to be over it.

Many people you care about will forget about it.

Many people will never mention it.

Many people will act like it never happened.

Many people will get uncomfortable if you try and talk about it.

Society believes you should just get over it.

You will cry and scream and be okay all within the same 10 minute span.

It will test but can strengthen your marital relationship.

It will hurt to see other pregnant women, and it will destroy you to see an expecting woman that is obviously unfit to be a mother.

It will hurt to hear comments about other people just "wishing their pregnancy would just be done by now".

The pain subsides but you will never get over it.

You don't just lose your baby:

-you lose the innocence and naiveté of pregnancy.

-you may lose friends and close relationships with people you care about.

-you will lose the ability to take life for granted.

Your living children, or future children will be fully understood as the miracles that they truly are.

Written by Jessie Slattery