When is a pregnant woman safe from miscarriage?
According to a 2008 study published in the journal, Obstetrics
& Gynecology, miscarriage risk falls rapidly with advancing
gestation. The researchers studied miscarriage rates of 697 women
and found that the risk of miscarriage at 6 weeks gestation was
9.4%. At 7 weeks gestation, the risk of miscarriage fell to 4.2%,
and at 8 weeks of gestation, it fell to 1.5%. The overall
miscarriage rate for this group of women was 1.6% (11 of the 697
women miscarried at some point during their pregnancies).
This study involved women who did not have any symptoms of
miscarriage when they were first enrolled in the study, and where
evidence of fetal heartbeat was seen via ultrasound during their
first prenatal visit (the first visit took place between week 6 and
week 11 gestation).
So, if you have seen a fetal heartbeat on the ultrasound, and if
you are not experiencing any symptoms of a miscarriage (i.e. heavy
cramping, bleeding), then your risk of miscarriage is likely to be
similar to the women in this study.