Recommended by Mothers 35 Plus. Read about it here . Losing a baby - Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Losing a baby is one of the most upsetting and stressful situations imaginable for any parent. If you are pregnant now, you might prefer not to read this section, although women who have experienced losing a baby often express regret that they were not as well prepared for this situation as they were for pregnancy and childbirth. Firstly, it is important to define the term miscarriage, as opposed to stillbirth and neonatal death.
Miscarriage occurs in the first six months of the pregnancy.
After that, once the foetus has reached twenty-eight weeks it is then called stillbirth rather than miscarriage. This is because at twenty-eight weeks it is possible for the foetus to be able to survive outside the uterus. Neonatal death is the term used when a baby dies within four weeks of birth. It may be surprising to learn that in women who know they are pregnant, about one in six ends in miscarriage. Except in a small number of cases, the exact cause of miscarriage will remain unknown.