Blighted Ovum: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
When a fertilized egg implants itself into the uterine wall but does not grow into an embryo, it is known as a blighted ovum or an embryonic pregnancy. One in two miscarriages during the first trimester is due to a blighted ovum.
Symptoms
Sometimes, blighted ovum occurs so early in the pregnancy that you may not even notice. Usually, it has the same symptoms as pregnancy including missed menstrual periods and positive pregnancy tests.
However, within 6–8 weeks of conception, you may experience symptoms of a miscarriage including:
- Vaginal spotting or light bleeding
- Abdominal cramps
- Passing grey tissue
- Passing blood clots
- A period that has heavy bleeding
Causes
The exact cause of blighted ovum is not known. However, it is believed that chromosomal abnormalities can cause blighted ovum. Some reasons could be:
- Chromosomal abnormalities within the fertilized egg
- Genetics
- Poor quality of egg
- Poor quality of sperm
- If you and your partner are biologically related
- Abnormal cell division
- An infection
- Autoimmune diseases
- An endocrine disease
- Hormonal abnormalities
- Thyroid issues
- PCOS
- If you are overweight
- If you are of an advanced age
Treatment
During your prenatal visits, if your doctor finds out about blighted ovum, they will discuss the following treatment options with you:
Natural Miscarriage
Your doctor may advise you to wait for the body to naturally expel the gestational sac and placenta through the vagina. The pregnancy tissues pass with heavy bleeding and blood clots. It can be painful.
Medicines
Your doctor may give you the medicine called misoprostol to accelerate your miscarriage. This medicine can be taken orally or administered vaginally.
Surgical Procedure
Your doctor may perform a surgical procedure called dilation and curettage (D&C) to remove the tissues from your uterus. D&C is performed under full anesthesia.
It will take you almost a month to recover from a miscarriage caused due to a blighted ovum. Avoid strenuous activities and take rest after the miscarriage. Most women can have successful pregnancies after a blighted ovum.