Of the millions of pregnancies that end in miscarriages every year, less than twenty per cent are actual pregnancies, whereas the others are known as chemical pregnancies. This means that the pregnancy was terminated before it was detected or confirmed. However, sometimes after a miscarriage, women might continue to have pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness. In this case, they might be convinced to take a pregnancy test. This article will explain what it means if you get a positive pregnancy test after going through a miscarriage.
Can a Pregnancy Test Show a Positive Result After a Miscarriage?
As strange as it sounds, a positive pregnancy test is actually possible after a miscarriage. However, in almost all cases, this is a false-positive result.
Here are some of the common causes of a false-positive test after the loss of pregnancy.
1. Presence of hCG Hormone
hCG is continuously produced by the placenta during pregnancy and is responsible for maintaining the early development of the foetus. However, since miscarriages are usually sudden, the shock to the system requires some time to reset. During this period, hCG might still be produced and can result in a positive pregnancy test.
2. Incomplete Miscarriage
In some cases, miscarriages may be incomplete. That is, a fragment of the ovum might still be in the uterus. This scenario may also lead to a false-positive result. A positive pregnancy test 8 weeks after miscarriage indicates that it was incomplete.
3. Molar Pregnancy
A rare condition known as molar disease or molar pregnancy can be the reason for a false positive on the pregnancy test. This condition is a type of gestational trophoblastic disease and is of two types. In a complete molar pregnancy, the embryo or normal placental tissue is absent. In a partial molar pregnancy, the embryo and normal placental tissue are present, but the embryo is abnormal and malformed. Molar pregnancies have dangerous complications, including cancer, and necessitates immediate treatment.
Some other reasons why you would get a positive test after a miscarriage are as follows:
- It is possible to become pregnant again if you have been sexually active the time after a miscarriage, especially in the first menstrual cycle. In this case, you could have a truly positive pregnancy test, but it requires confirmation with blood tests.
- Certain medical drugs could also lead to a positive pregnancy test, such as Pregnyl or Profasi, as these drugs contain hCG.
- Kidney disease can be a cause, due to the secretion of protein into the urine.
What to Do If a Pregnancy Test is Positive After a Miscarriage?
Ideally, you should cross-check by taking the pregnancy test using strips from different companies. Next, you can ask your doctor for a blood test, which measures the absence or presence of the hCG hormone in your body, and also the current level it is at. This test should be performed approximately two weeks after the miscarriage. In very rare situations, a pregnancy test still positive after a miscarriage could mean that you had a multiple pregnancy, where only one embryo was miscarried, but the other is still alive.
FAQs
1. What Does a Positive Pregnancy Test 12 Weeks After Miscarriage Mean?
A positive pregnancy test around 12 weeks after a miscarriage is almost certainly because you are pregnant again. However, this only applies if you are sexually active and aiming to conceive.
2. How Long Will a Pregnancy Test Be Positive After a Miscarriage?
The standard operating principle of a pregnancy strip is visual. Once you have urinated on it, the appearance of one line means you are not pregnant, while two lines mean you are. Since modern pregnancy strips are very accurate, they can show a positive result even weeks after a miscarriage due to the minuscule amounts of hCG circulating in the body.
Getting pregnant after a miscarriage is not difficult. In fact, the likelihood of pregnancy immediately after a miscarriage is only lowered by five per cent. In the past, it was believed that becoming pregnant within six months of a miscarriage was linked to complications like stillbirth and toxaemia. However, modern studies show that there is no risk associated with pregnancies immediately after having a miscarriage.
If pregnancy tests show a positive result consistently after you have undergone a miscarriage, the best thing to do is seek your doctor’s recommendation. In most cases, this is a false positive test and will have no complications. However, as explained in the article, there are some rare possibilities that can have a severe impact on your health. Getting a thorough examination is essential. Further, if you observe continuous bleeding, vaginal discharge, fever or pelvic aches, consult your doctor, as this might indicate an infection.
Also Read: Positive Pregnancy Test But No Symptoms- Is it Possible?
After a miscarriage or a pregnancy loss, it can take about 4-6 weeks for a woman's body to clear the pregnancy hormone hCG. A urine pregnancy test can be positive for many weeks after a pregnancy loss including a D&C for miscarriage.
The only way to know for sure what's going on is to do several blood hCG tests in a row. This will show if the hCG is dropping (from the previous pregnancy) or rising (possibly from a new pregnancy).
It is completely normal for the urine pregnancy test to be positive for up to 4-6 weeks following a miscarriage. If you think you may be pregnant, you could do a blood pregnancy test. If it rises, then you could be pregnant or it could be from a rare condition such as a molar disease.
Writer
Pregnancy tests can detect hCG, the pregnancy hormone, weeks after a miscarriage. This is how long it should take to get a negative result following pregnancy loss.
This page contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our articles and reviews are written independently by the Netmums editorial team.
If you have had a miscarriage, the NHS advises that you will need to take a pregnancy test afterwards to check that everything is healthy and returning back to normal.
Pregnancy tests measure the presence of the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). HCG is also known as the pregnancy hormone, because your placenta starts producing it once you fall pregnant.
Your hCG levels will decrease to zero gradually following a pregnancy loss rather than straightaway. If you take a pregnancy test too soon, then it will detect those small levels of hCG and give you a false positive result.
How long after a miscarriage will hCG levels return to normal?
It takes an average of four to six weeks for hCG levels to fall back to undetectable levels, according to Facts About Fertility. However, you should bear in mind that this length of time will vary depending on how far along your pregnancy is.
Your hCG levels will be higher, and so will take longer to return to normal, if you have been pregnant for more than a few weeks.
In general, hCG levels double every 48 hours in early pregnancy until they peak at around 10 weeks, according to this study. Levels then gradually decrease and plateau through the second and third trimester.
This means that if you have had a chemical pregnancy (a miscarriage within the first five weeks of pregnancy), then it may only take a week or two for your hCG levels to return to zero.
If you miscarry later in your pregnancy, then it may take up to two months for your pregnancy test to come back negative, according to Healthline.
When to take a pregnancy test after a miscarriage
The NHS says that you will be asked to take a home pregnancy test three weeks after your miscarriage began.
You need a negative pregnancy test after your miscarriage to confirm that everything is returning back to normal.
This is the same whether you have opted for expectant management (where you wait for your body to complete the miscarriage naturally) or medical or surgical intervention.
If your pregnancy test comes back as positive after three weeks, your doctor may want to carry out more tests to check that all is well.
As above, in the early weeks or months after your miscarriage, a positive test might just mean that your hCG levels haven't fallen back to normal yet.
However, if your hCG levels are not dropping after your miscarriage, then this could be a sign of:
Incomplete miscarriage
A positive pregnancy test after a miscarriage could mean that there is still tissue left in your uterus that needs to pass.
This NHS guidance says that around 9 in 10 women who choose expectant management miscarry completely within three weeks. If this does not happen however, your doctor may discuss medical or surgical options to help remove the leftover tissue.
Ectopic pregnancy
If you have been treated for an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus has implanted outside of your womb, then your hCG levels should begin to decline straight away.
If your hCG levels begin to rise again, or the decline stops, then you may be diagnosed with a persistent ectopic pregnancy, which would require further treatment.
Molar pregnancy
Sometimes, elevated hCG levels are due to gestational trophoblastic disease, which is where abnormal cells grow in the womb from placental tissue. Often these cells are benign, but they can be cancerous so should be removed.
Molar pregnancy, where the fertilisation of the egg goes wrong and produces abnormal growths, is one type of gestational trophoblastic disease.
Cancer Research says that once your molar pregnancy has been treated, doctors will monitor your hCG levels for a number of weeks through blood and urine tests. If your hCG levels do not decrease, then you may be diagnosed with persistent trophoblastic disease, which can usually be completely cured using chemotherapy.
New pregnancy
If you have been sexually active since your miscarriage, then your hCG levels may indicate that you have fallen pregnant again. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), it is possible to get pregnant as soon as two weeks after a miscarriage.
In most cases, falling pregnant soon after a miscarriage should be fine, so long as your symptoms have lifted and you and your partner feel emotionally ready. It may make it harder to tell how far along you are, but it shouldn't cause any medical problems.
However, if you've suffered a molar or ectopic pregnancy, a late miscarriage, or recurrent miscarriage, you may have been advised not to get pregnant again quickly. If this is the case, speak to your GP as soon as possible, so they can check that all is well.
In the past, doctors have recommended that you wait for six months after your miscarriage to try to conceive again. However, according to The Miscarriage Association, new evidence suggests that becoming pregnant again within six months could actually lower your chances of a second miscarriage.
Miscarriage support: who can I talk to?
You can find dedicated support from others who've been through the same thing in our Coffeehouse forum. Or, talk to:
- The Miscarriage Association – a charity that offers support to people who have lost a baby. They have a helpline (01924 200 799, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm).
- Cruse Bereavement Care helps people understand their grief and cope with their loss. They have a helpline (0844 477 9400, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
For more information and support around pregnancy loss, you can keep reading our guidance below, or ask for help in the dedicated support section on our forum:
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