What to do about abdominal pain caused by embryonic arrest?

Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
Updated on February 11, 2025
00:00
00:00

After discovering an embryonic arrest accompanied by abdominal pain, it is important to observe whether there is vaginal bleeding or expulsion of embryonic tissue. If the embryo is not expelled in time, an immediate uterine evacuation surgery is necessary to avoid the risk of intrauterine infection and impact on health. After the surgery, it is important to rest, enhance nutrition, and eat foods rich in vitamins and proteins. Moreover, a week later, a visit to the hospital for an ultrasound should be conducted to check if the expulsion was complete and to understand the recovery status of the uterus.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
46sec home-news-image

How long does it take for a miscarried embryo to be expelled from the body?

After the embryo ceases to develop, some may naturally miscarry. Others may not be expelled naturally and require medical intervention for removal. After the embryo has stopped developing, the timing of expulsion varies from person to person due to different physical constitutions. Most women can naturally miscarry after the embryo stops developing, typically within about ten days when expulsion occurs. However, some embryonic tissue may be larger and adhere to the uterine cavity, preventing expulsion and causing continuous vaginal bleeding. In such cases, a visit to the hospital for an ultrasound is necessary, followed by medical abortion or a dilation and curettage procedure.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
42sec home-news-image

Is a painless abortion painful for a missed miscarriage?

After an embryonic arrest occurs, it is necessary to terminate the pregnancy promptly, and a painless abortion surgery can be chosen. During the abortion surgery, anesthetic drugs are administered, usually intravenous anesthesia. During the procedure, the patient is in a sleeping state, completely unconscious, and therefore does not feel any pain. Generally, a few minutes after the surgery, the effect of the anesthetic wears off quickly and the patient will wake up. Therefore, patients can rest assured, especially for women who are particularly sensitive to pain, using painless abortion can reduce their fear and alleviate some of the pain during the procedure.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhao Li Li
Obstetrics
59sec home-news-image

What are the causes of embryonic arrest?

If an embryonic arrest is discovered, there are many specific reasons for the arrest. Firstly, the main reason for embryonic arrest is due to congenital abnormalities in the formation and development of the fertilized egg, which is a relatively common situation. Moreover, embryonic arrest usually occurs early when there are developmental abnormalities. In some cases, it may be caused by maternal factors, such as abnormal diseases in the mother or abnormalities in chromosomes, which can lead to poor embryonic development and subsequently cause embryonic arrest. Occasionally, issues related to the viability of the male sperm, or the presence of abnormal sperm, may also lead to embryonic arrest. Because there are many reasons for embryonic arrest, it is generally not possible to systematically investigate the specific causes.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
56sec home-news-image

Will the gestational sac shrink if the embryo stops developing?

Embryo arrest, also known as missed abortion, refers to a condition in the early stages of pregnancy where the gestational sac does not develop normally due to various factors. Generally, the gestational sac will not begin to shrink until the embryo has been arrested for a considerable period. In the initial stages of embryo arrest, since the duration is relatively short, the trophoblastic cells within the gestational sac can still secrete estrogens, progesterone, and chorionic gonadotropin. These hormones stimulate the possible continued growth of the gestational sac in the short term. However, as the duration of the embryo arrest extends, the proliferation of the trophoblastic cells decreases, leading to a decline in hormone levels in the body. This reduces the stimulation to the gestational sac, causing it to gradually shrink, decrease in size, and possibly leading to a natural miscarriage.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
58sec home-news-image

Will the embryo still grow if the embryo has ceased development?

Embryo arrest, also known as missed abortion, refers to the condition in early pregnancy where, due to congenital developmental defects in the gestational sac or other influencing factors, natural development does not occur, resulting in the absence of a fetal heartbeat. Once embryo arrest has been diagnosed, the embryo generally does not continue to grow, because embryo arrest means that the gestational sac has died and is gradually decaying. If a subsequent ultrasound check reveals that the embryo may have grown slightly since the previous examination, this should not be considered as growth continuation of the embryo, but rather attributed to measurement error. Therefore, once embryo arrest is detected and meets diagnostic criteria, timely re-examination may show some lengthening of the embryo. However, in the absence of a fetal heartbeat, it still needs to be treated as embryo arrest, and an abortion procedure should be promptly performed.