What is the Difference Between a Miscarriage and a Pregnancy Loss?

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. As I've been working on my blog again. I realized that I'm always trying to decide when I should write "miscarriage" and when to write "pregnancy loss." Not everyone may understand the difference, so I wanted to write a short post on some common forms of pregnancy loss.

Pregnancy Loss is any loss of the baby during pregnancy. According to Stanford Medicine, pregnancy loss occurs in as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies. Standford lists five common types of pregnancy losses:

• Embryonic pregnancy. The egg is fertilized, but it never develops into an embryo.

• Miscarriage. This is pregnancy loss before 13 weeks of pregnancy. It is also called spontaneous abortion.

• Ectopic pregnancy. The fetus develops outside the uterus. This might be in a fallopian tube, cervix, pelvis, or abdomen.

• Molar pregnancy. The placenta and fetal tissues do not develop normally.

• Stillbirth. This is when the fetus dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Before researching this post, I was only aware of 4 of the ones listed by Standford. I'd never heard of an embryonic pregnancy. I wonder if that is because they are hard to detect and are not talked about. Miscarriage is the most common. I had a miscarriage during my third pregnancy and experienced an ectopic pregnancy during my second pregnancy. While I have not experienced a Molar Pregnancy or Stillbirth, I know several women who have. Any loss during pregnancy is difficult, no matter the circumstances.

I want to create a collection of stories of women who have experienced pregnancy loss or infertility here on my blog. This is because women who find themselves in similar experiences need to have a resource to turn to as they are healing. We need connection and hope as we go through our journeys. I need your help!! If you are willing to share your story, please get in touch with me, and I will help guide you through sharing your story.