All of a sudden, I'm starting to freak out about the chances of miscarriage. I think it's b/c we're starting to tell people (I plan to tell my parents this afternoon, as soon as Zach gets back from his trip!). I'm VERY excited to share the news, but also worried... what if this "jinxes" us somehow? I know that's silly, but can you help a pregnant woman from worrying? (I'm still getting used to this whole BEING THE PREGNANT WOMAN thing... hehe!)
Thankfully, the odds are looking like they're on my side. Chances of miscarriage once a pregnancy has been confirmed are between 10% and 25%. I've read that women in their 20's have only a 10% chance of miscarriage. I also found a website that states that, according to one study in the UK, women in their first pregnancy have only 5% chance of miscarriage... EXCELLENT news! I've also read that the chances of miscarriage drop significantly after you heart the baby's heartbeat (probably b/c at least half of all miscarriages are due to chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo, in which case the heart might not develop at all). Many sources claim that the hb can be heard as early as 6 or 7 weeks-- I go in for my next ultrasound at 6.5 weeks, very much crossing my fingers.
Another site claimed that the highest chance for miscarriage is between weeks 6 and 8, and after 8 weeks the chances drop (then dropping further after 12 or 13 weeks).
This is all very exciting, very reassuring news.
So who knows... perhaps once we've heard the heartbeat. and after passing the 8 week point, maybe we'll start telling more people. I guess we'll start with family, as we've planned, and go from there.
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