silly question...whats a "chemical"

I've heard this saying before...usually with a BFP...what does it mean? sorry...my ignorance is embarassing!

Re: silly question...whats a "chemical"

It's when you get a BFP before AF is due, and that ends in very early miscarriage causing AF to come as usual.

I didn't know what this was until Khloe Kardashian had one on their show!

Re: silly question...whats a "chemical"

technically AF can be late by a few days because of it.

its when something goes awry at or around implantation - but enough fertilization happened to have the body produce enough HCG for a positive test. then implantation doesnt fully occur and the pregnancy dissolves/miscarries. eventually i think the HCG goes down and you get AF - either on time cause you tested early, or a few days later if implantation was to occur later than usual.

Re: silly question...whats a "chemical"

in easy terms, it's a VERY early miscarriage. More women are aware of it these days because of how early they test. It's more common than most people think, but many years ago, women didn't test as early as they do now so they didn't know they were having a chemical pregnancy.

After my 1st chemical, I stopped testing before AF was due.


Definition of a Chemical Pregnancy:


The earliest form of miscarriage. The word "chemical" refers to the pregnancy being too early to confirm except through biochemical means. Home pregnancy tests and hCG blood tests will be positive, but the baby and gestational sac will not develop enough to be visible on an ultrasound. (When the ultrasound can confirm the pregnancy, it is a "clinical" pregnancy.)

The term "chemical" pregnancy can be confusing. In a chemical pregnancy, the sperm and egg do meet but the fertilized egg does not implant properly in the uterus, resulting in an early miscarriage.

Chemical pregnancies are not uncommon. Doctors sometimes advise women to wait to use a pregnancy test until their menstrual periods are actually late in order to avoid detecting and grieving chemical pregnancies because an early pregnancy test often will come up positive but then the woman's menstrual period arrives on time or a few days late. The bleeding may be slightly heavier and more crampy than a normal period.