Health Medical Information

Yes you can still misscarry over 4 months. This can happen for a bunch of reasons. Especially being sick, having stress, being around fumes or chemicals, drugs, lifting heavy objects, etc… The difference between a late misscarraige and a stillbirth though I’m not really sure. I had a still born at 41 weeks pregnant in 2004. I’ve never had a misscarraige. I think that the difference is that a still born you are actually in labor having the baby and a miscarraige they have to take the baby out.

The difference is typically timing. Before 20 weeks it’s considered a miscarriage. After 20 weeks it’s considered a stillbirth.

Any number of things can happen. The placenta can die, the bag of waters can break or get a leak, there can be a knot in the cord, the fetus can just die…

Try not to think about it if you are pregnant and everything is well. It’s scary!

Miscarriage refers to the time BEFORE the 21st week if the pregnancy ends. Any pregnancy that makes it to week 21 is called a birth, even if the baby is born dead, which is called a stillbirth. A late miscarriage is if the pregnancy comes to an end between weeks 16 to 20.

a late miscarriage is a miscarriage that occurs after 12 weeks but before th 20th week. A stillbirth is 20 weeks and after and the baby is born dead. The reason they make a distinction is bc it has to do with the viability of the developing baby—a baby after 20 weeks, though rare, can survive if born with intensive medical care. But 19 weeks and under, there is no chance. Either is a terrible tragedy.
You can still miscarry over 4 months (or 16 weeks) but it is rare. The causes, unlike an early miscarriage which happens in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, are due to problems with the mother, unlike with early miscarriages where it is usually a problem with the baby, either the fetus is not viable or has chromosomal abnormalities or defects. But with late miscarriages (13 weeks and after) it is because either the mother had a problem with her cervix—cevical incompetance in which it dialtes way too soon and the baby has no chance of survival bc it is way too early–or an infection of the placenta, or the placenta tears away from the uterus, or an infection of amniotic fluid, or severe malnutrition in the mother. These are all causes for late miscarriages. Another cause could be a disease called listeria which is fatal to babies in the womb. If a woman gets listeria from eating soft cheeses, for example, she will get very sick and her baby will most likely die inside her, causing a miscarriage or stillbirth, unless she gets medical attention immediately.

A late miscarriage is anything between 14 weeks and 24weeks the baby is not termed viable before 24weeks (even though babies can survive before this). Just to clarify some of the answers, You can still have a funeral if you have a late miscarriage, the baby is yours and the hospital will always ensure you are involved with any decision making, not like years ago. Unfortunately you can miscarry over 4 months for a variety of reasons. Most likely, infection, premature rupture of membranes, stress, placental abruption to name just a few. My son was stillborn at 25 weeks as my placenta had stopped working (though no-one knew why). And I had to be induced to deliver him. Stillborn is a term used for any intr-uterine death (i.e a baby that dies inside before delivery) and is sometimes used in babies that would technically be a miscarriage as it is a kinder term and makes the parents feel as though their baby is actually a person and exists rather than miscarriage when from 14weeks you would actually deliver a baby (i.e. it physically looks like a baby, not a foetus).