Frozen pregnancy is one of the most common pathologies of fetal development. Only a doctor can diagnose it. Even after the death of the embryo, a pregnancy test can show 2 stripes for several more weeks.
Frozen pregnancy, its signs and diagnosis
With a frozen pregnancy, the fertilization of the egg occurs, but at a certain stage, the development of the embryo stops. An empty fertilized egg can exist for some time in the uterus, after which it is rejected. Fading pregnancy can happen both very early and quite late. If this occurs over a period of more than 28 obstetric weeks, this pathology is already characterized as fetal death.
There can be a lot of reasons for a frozen pregnancy. Most of them are associated with poor heredity, previous sexually transmitted diseases, with the use of drugs or alcoholic beverages. The risk of developing this pathology increases with the age of the woman.
It is quite difficult to diagnose a frozen pregnancy. This can only be done by a specialist. For a more accurate diagnosis, the ultrasound method is most often used. In this case, there are signs that give reason to suspect the termination of the development of the embryo.
An alarming signal is a sharp cessation of toxicosis, a decrease in basal temperature, and bloody discharge from the genital tract may also appear.
What the test shows with a frozen pregnancy
During a normal pregnancy, a standard home test should show 2 strips. This is a sign that fertilization has occurred, the embryo is developing and the body is producing chorionic gonadotropin. It is the increase in the concentration of hCG in the urine that underlies the principle of the test.
The concentration of the hormone in the urine increases every few days. The longer the gestation period, the more reliable the test result should be.
When the development of the embryo stops, the body stops producing a specific hormone, and its concentration in biological fluids begins to gradually decrease. The rate of decrease in concentration is individual for each case. It can depend on various reasons.
Immediately after the development of the embryo has stopped, the test will still show a positive result if the concentration of hCG in the urine was sufficient to determine pregnancy. If at the time of the pregnancy fading her term was very short, after 2-3 days the test will show a negative result.
If the development of the embryo stops at a later date, it takes time for the concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin to decrease enough for the test to show a negative result. In medical practice, there are cases when an express analysis gives a positive result even within a month after the death of the embryo and its rejection.
Experts assure that the positive value of the test cannot serve as a guarantee that the pregnancy is developing normally. If you experience any alarming symptoms, you should see your doctor.
