What to do after a chemical pregnancy?

What is a chemical pregnancy and how does it work?

• I took an at home pregnancy test last week and tested positive, but then had my period a few days later. I would have conceived between September 20th and 24th, and my period came 6 days ago. I started reading up on this and found a lot of questions about chemical pregnancies. How do they happen? And how long will the pregnancy hormone stay in my system if the egg has already been flushed out? I can't get into my gyno until next week and I need to know what's going on now.

• Answer:

  A "chemical pregnancy" is just another term for an early miscarriage. Many times this happens without the woman even knowing she is pregnant. Usually the reason for this is because of abnormalities with the developing fetus or due to the embryo not implanting properly within the womb lining itself. Your doctor will probably advise you to wait for 2 - 3 months before trying again to conceive as it can take a while for your hormone level to return to its normal level. Usually it takes longer if you miscarry further along. So given the fact that you were only a few weeks along it should only be a week or two. Try not to worry.... it is perfectly normal and happens more often than a lot of people realise as it often occurs very early on after conception and most people assume it is their period but a little late. I have had this happen myself and have gone on to have a perfectly healthy baby since then so it does not mean that anything is wrong with you. Hope this helps and good luck =)