Blighted ovum (anembryonic pregnancy)

An anembryonic pregnancy (AP) is a type of miscarriage that can happen early in pregnancy, also called early pregnancy loss. Your health team may describe it as a ‘blighted ovum’. 

In this type of miscarriage, a sac (a fluid-filled pouch in the womb) and placenta grow, but there is no embryo (developing baby).

The AP will eventually lead to a miscarriage, usually in the first trimester (before 12 weeks of pregnancy). Your body recognises that the pregnancy is not developing properly and may start to shed blood and tissue from your uterus.

How common is a miscarriage?

Miscarriage is very common. Around 1 in 8 people who know that they are pregnant will miscarry before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Many more miscarry before they know they are pregnant, making the miscarriage rates even higher.

Symptoms of an AP include pain in your lower abdomen (tummy) and bleeding from your vagina.

When an egg is fertilised, cells that make the pregnancy sac and placenta start to grow and divide. Sometimes, the cells that would normally develop into a baby do not grow as expected. The exact cause is often unknown, but it often happens because of random chromosome (gene) problems. 

It is important to know it is not caused by anything that you have done.

If you think you are pregnant and you are experiencing bleeding from your vagina or pain in your lower abdomen (tummy), speak with your doctor or midwife immediately.

An AP is usually diagnosed with an ultrasound. Your doctor may diagnose an AP during an early routine ultrasound. This can be distressing if you were expecting good news. 

Your doctor may also do an ultrasound if you have bleeding at the start of your pregnancy to help diagnose an AP.

Your doctor will discuss your treatment options with you.

You might choose to let a natural miscarriage happen. Once this starts, it can take days or weeks for the bleeding to finish. See your doctor, if the bleeding is getting heavier, you are in pain or you feel unwell.

You can also terminate (end) the pregnancy by:

• taking medicines
• having a D&C (dilatation and curettage)— a surgical procedure that gently empties the uterus.

Use sanitary pads to deal with any bleeding (not tampons).

Simple pain relief with paracetamol (Opens in new tab) can help.

Early pregnancy loss is common and can also happen to healthy people. 

There is no clear way to prevent an AP. You can try to stay generally healthy for future pregnancies. There are a few lifestyle factors that have been shown to increase your risk of miscarriage, such as:

• smoking 
• drinking alcohol 
• having too much caffeine
• living with underweight (Opens in new tab) or obesity

Early pregnancy loss can be extremely upsetting and you may need support and time to grieve.

Talk to your doctor or midwife for advice on how to look after yourself if you experience an AP. They will help you find support services.

There is no right way to feel after a miscarriage. Different people react to a miscarriage with different emotions, including guilt, sadness or relief.

In most cases, AP does not affect your chances of having a baby in the future. If you have had one miscarriage, your next pregnancy is likely to be normal and usually you do not need extra testing.

Recurrent miscarriage is uncommon. If you have had 3 miscarriages in a row, you should see your doctor to rule out any problems.

If you have experienced a miscarriage or pregnancy loss, there are many support services available to help you, your partner and your family.

If you are looking for information, these fact sheets are available:

• Miscarriage Australia (Opens in new tab) provides more information about types of miscarriages (Opens in new tab).
• Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) (Opens in new tab) offers information on coping after miscarriage (Opens in new tab).
• ForWhen (Opens in new tab) has information about the physical and emotional effects of miscarriage.

If you are looking for support:

• Red Nose Grief and Loss (Opens in new tab) provides support for people affected by pregnancy loss. You can call them on 1300 308 307.
• The Pink Elephants Support Network (Opens in new tab) offers information and support for people who have experienced a miscarriage.
• Grief Australia (Opens in new tab) provides counselling and support for people grieving any type of loss.

Languages other than English

Multicultural Health Communication Service provides translated information, including:

• What to do if you are having a miscarriage, types of miscarriage and support services (Opens in new tab).
• Information for after a miscarriage (Opens in new tab).

Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Red Nose offers support for families experiencing miscarriage for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This booklet (Opens in new tab) from the Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence, Mater Research and Red Nose helps support your journey after losing your bub.

Find an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) (Opens in new tab) near you.

SMS4Dads has grief and loss around pregnancy support (Opens in new tab) for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander dads.