A blighted ovum will eventually cause a miscarriage, usually at 7 to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Your body realises that the pregnancy is not developing properly and starts to shed blood and tissue from the uterus.
A blighted ovum is a miscarriage that occurs very early in pregnancy. The fertilized egg is unable to develop into an embryo after it has attached to the uterine wall. This type of miscarriage usually occurs within the very early stages of pregnancy (weeks 2-6), often before a woman even knows she's pregnant.
Diagnosis and Tests
Your healthcare provider will diagnose a blighted ovum using transvaginal ultrasound. This happens in the first trimester, usually between seven and nine weeks of pregnancy. An embryo should be visible at this time in pregnancy. With a blighted ovum, the gestational sac will be empty.
How common is a blighted ovum? Blighted ovum is the most common cause of miscarriage. Experts estimate that blighted ovum accounts for about 50 percent of all miscarriages in the first trimester. About 15 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage before 13 weeks of pregnancy.
A blighted ovum, also called an anembryonic pregnancy, occurs when an early embryo never develops or stops developing, is resorbed and leaves an empty gestational sac. The reason this occurs is often unknown, but it may be due to chromosomal abnormalities in the fertilized egg.
A blighted ovum will eventually cause a miscarriage, usually at 7 to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Your body realises that the pregnancy is not developing properly and starts to shed blood and tissue from the uterus.
A blighted ovum is often a one-time occurrence, and rarely will a woman experience more than one. Most doctors recommend couples wait at least 1-3 regular menstrual cycles before trying to conceive again after any type of miscarriage.
Having a blighted ovum should not affect your chances of conceiving again in the future, and one study even found that for women who conceive within the first six months immediately after a miscarriage, there was a higher likelihood of a healthy, full-term pregnancy[2.
The exact cause of blighted ovum isn't known. It's thought to be caused by chromosomal abnormalities occurring within the fertilized egg. This may be the result of genetics, or of poor-quality eggs or sperm. Blighted ovum may be linked to abnormalities within chromosome 9.
Blighted Ovum: When a fertilized egg doesn't become an embryo, this type of miscarriage occurs. While your hCG levels may have triggered a positive pregnancy test, they're not likely to rise any further and will instead stay low.
There are a number of reasons why a blighted ovum can be misdiagnosed. During an early pregnancy visit, your doctor will typically use an ultrasound to look for signs of a viable pregnancy. If the doctor sees what they believe is an empty embryonic sac, they may tell you that you have a blighted ovum.
It is also known as an anembryonic pregnancy. It is usually caused by a mistake in the material of the egg or sperm or the combination of both. Stress, exercise, or sex does not cause this problem. There is nothing you could have done to prevent it.
Signs of a Blighted Ovum
Abdominal cramps. Vaginal spotting or bleeding. A period that is heavier than usual.
But a recurrent blighted ovum doesn't happen frequently. However, a blighted ovum is considered a pregnancy failure that causes miscarriage. The risk of 1 abortion in general woman is about 10-15%. But the risk of 2nd abortion is not much, less than 10%.
Will a blighted ovum show up on an ultrasound? Yes, a vaginal ultrasound is used to diagnose a blighted ovum. It can be used as early as week 7 and will show an empty gestational sac (no embryo). There is no great way to differentiate between a blighted ovum versus a normal but very early pregnancy.
Blighted ovum refers to an “anembryonic gestation” — a pregnancy that begins to grow in the absence of an embryo. This results in early miscarriage. It is extremely common, occurring in up to 20 percent of known pregnancies.
Blighted ovum (AKA missed miscarriage)
This type of early miscarriage is similar to a chemical pregnancy—except you start to grow the placenta and surrounding tissue, but there's no fetus inside it. Unlike the chemical pregnancy, you might even start to develop pregnancy symptoms.
Diagnosing a Blighted Ovum
With a blighted ovum, hCG can continue to rise because the placenta may grow for a brief time, even when an embryo is not present. For this reason, an ultrasound test is usually needed to diagnose a blighted ovum -- to confirm that the pregnancy sac is empty.
Blighted Ovum: When a fertilized egg doesn't become an embryo, this type of miscarriage occurs. While your hCG levels may have triggered a positive pregnancy test, they're not likely to rise any further and will instead stay low.
Strictly speaking, it's a miscarriage. But that's confusing: a blighted ovum exists before any bleeding happens. It's often spotted late, or not at all. So a blighted ovum is sometimes called a silent miscarriage.
Having a blighted ovum should not affect your chances of conceiving again in the future, and one study even found that for women who conceive within the first six months immediately after a miscarriage, there was a higher likelihood of a healthy, full-term pregnancy[2.
The exact cause of blighted ovum isn't known. It's thought to be caused by chromosomal abnormalities occurring within the fertilized egg. This may be the result of genetics, or of poor-quality eggs or sperm. Blighted ovum may be linked to abnormalities within chromosome 9.
Blighted ovum refers to an “anembryonic gestation” — a pregnancy that begins to grow in the absence of an embryo. This results in early miscarriage. It is extremely common, occurring in up to 20 percent of known pregnancies.
There are a number of reasons why a blighted ovum can be misdiagnosed. During an early pregnancy visit, your doctor will typically use an ultrasound to look for signs of a viable pregnancy. If the doctor sees what they believe is an empty embryonic sac, they may tell you that you have a blighted ovum.