A pregnancy is called a chemical pregnancy if you test positive for pregnancy but start you period a few days later.
How common are they?
Unfortunately, too common. The numbers vary depending on the source, but generally up to 50 to 60 percent of all first pregnancies end in miscarriage--usually too early for the mother to know. With HPT's becoming more sensitive, we know about more of these early miscarriages than before.
What causes a chemical pregnancy?
Is it really a baby?
I'm cramping. Does that mean something is wrong?
Many say that menstrual-like cramps are normal in a pregnancy (Jonathan Scher, Preventing Miscarriage), but others disagree (Stefan Semchyshyn, How to Prevent Miscarriage and Other Crises of Pregnancy). Having had cramps for a week before I started bleeding, I tend think they should at least be treated as a warning signal. Cramps are actually uterine contractions and may indicate a lack of progesterine since progesterine relaxes the uterus.
What should I do if I start cramping?
Call the doctor and abstain from sex (at least use a condom)."It is known that prostaglandins in semen can stimulate uterine muscle activity and therefore increase contractions." (Jonathan Scher, Preventing Miscarriage)
What is my baby like at that early stage?
"The cells then fuse and immediately start to divide, so that after 4 days there is a mazz of cells called the blastocyst. This develops little fingerlike structures, known as chorionic villi, which are necessary for the embedding of the developing embryo. After 7 days, the embryo reaches the uterus. The villi start burrowing into the lining of the uterus, and the egg receives a new source of nutrition by opening into the mother's blood vessels.
"The mass of cells begins to form into a fetus and an amniotic sac. As the fetus develops, a cord goes out to the yet-to-be-formed placenta. Amniotic fluid is put into production, and the amniotic and chorionic membranes appear.
"By the 2nd week after conception, the pregnancy is large enough to be seen by the naked eye. The ovary still contains the tiny corpus luteum, which is supporting the conception." (Jonathan Scher, Preventing Miscarriage)
Why am I so emotional?
I had a difficult time because people didn't understand how attached I could be so early and quickly. After a week I was expected to "get over it." My husband hadn't really accepted it yet, so it was much easier for him. While he tries to be helpful, he doesn't understand.
"The major changes in a woman's hormonal makeup take place early in pregnancy, almost just after conception. (...) So, when you lose a pregnancy, it does feel just like you have lost a child, an anticipated child. There is scientific (hormonal) proof that these feelings occur!"