The difference between miscarriage and fetal arrest

Miscarriage and fetal growth retardation can be said to be the two situations that people are most reluctant to encounter during pregnancy, and the final result may be termination of pregnancy. Although the results of the two may be the same, there are differences, which are things we need to understand especially during pregnancy. So, what is the difference between miscarriage and fetal growth retardation? Let’s take a look below.

Spontaneous abortion and fetal growth retardation are not exactly the same.

There are basically two possibilities for spontaneous abortion: one is that the embryo (fetus) does not develop well; the other is that the mother is affected by external factors, such as lifting heavy objects, falling, bumping, etc.

Fetal arrest means that the embryo stops developing in the mother's body. There are usually two possible causes of fetal arrest: one is that the embryo itself is unhealthy, and the other is that the mother does not provide enough estrogen (progesterone) in the early pregnancy, so that the embryo cannot develop normally. It's like a fertilized egg is a seed. If the seed is unhealthy, how can it grow and develop well? Or if the baby does not get enough nutrients during the development stage, it will also stop growing healthily.

Embryonic arrest is the stage before spontaneous abortion. If the embryo is expelled from the body for self-protection by the mother after embryonic arrest, it is called spontaneous abortion. If it fails to be expelled and remains in the uterine cavity, it is called missed abortion.

In other words, spontaneous abortion does not necessarily mean fetal growth retardation, and spontaneous abortion does not necessarily occur soon after fetal growth retardation. There may also be no signs of abortion until it is discovered and surgery is required, which causes greater harm to the mother.

The early stages of pregnancy are when the possibility of fetal arrest and miscarriage is relatively high, because at this stage of pregnancy, the embryo can easily be affected by the mother herself or by the external environment, which can endanger its normal development.