Understanding Chemical Pregnancy and How to Move Forward
February 03, 2025 By: Women's Health Team

Content medically reviewed by Andrea Solberg, APRN, CNP
If you are trying to get pregnant, having a positive pregnancy test can be exciting. But sometimes, those who tested positive can suddenly begin bleeding or test negative a few weeks later. Often, this means a chemical pregnancy has occurred. A chemical pregnancy is a very common, early pregnancy loss that occurs when implantation occurs but the pregnancy does not continue to progress to a clinically recognized pregnancy.
Early pregnancy loss is fairly common. But experts don’t know exactly how many chemical pregnancies occur, as someone may not realize they are pregnant before the pregnancy loss happens.
“With a chemical pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants in your uterine lining, but the embryo stops developing,” said certified nurse practitioner Andrea Solberg, OB/GYN and fertility provider at Essentia Health. “This can be a big loss if you are trying to have a baby and get a positive result, only to have it be negative soon after.”
What Causes a Chemical Pregnancy?
Experts don’t know exactly what leads to a chemical pregnancy. Problems with chromosomes may cause the embryo to stop developing or prevent it from taking hold in the uterine wall the way it needs to.. If an embryo receives too many or not enough chromosomes, it can lead to genetic abnormalities that prevent it from developing normally.
However, once implantation occurs, your body creates a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which helps the embryo begin to grow. Pregnancy tests check for HCG, which is why the test will be positive even with a chemical pregnancy. After embryo growth stops, it can take up to a few weeks for HCG levels to drop to normal levels. When they do, a pregnancy test will come back negative.
“The name ‘chemical pregnancy’ comes from the fact that chemical evidence, meaning pregnancy hormones, lead to a positive urine or blood test,” Solberg said. “This is different from a clinical pregnancy, which can be confirmed by seeing the fetus on an ultrasound.”
5 Symptoms of a Chemical Pregnancy
While some are not aware of being pregnant or having an early miscarriage, there are some signs of a chemical pregnancy. These can include –
- Getting your period after having a positive pregnancy test
- Getting your period about a week later than expected
- Having a period with heavier bleeding than normal or more intense cramping
- Testing positive on a pregnancy test but testing negative a few weeks later
- Testing positive on a pregnancy test but not having normal early pregnancy symptoms, such as tiredness, nausea, and breast tenderness
In some cases, a chemical pregnancy can happen around the same time as a monthly period. As a result, someone who did not know they were pregnant may mistake a miscarriage for their normal menstrual cycle.
Who Can Have a Chemical Pregnancy?
A chemical pregnancy can happen to anyone who becomes pregnant. Your chances of having early pregnancy loss may go up if –
- You are 35 or older.
- Your uterus has an irregular shape.
Certain health conditions can also raise the likelihood of miscarriage. These include –
- Diabetes. Having high blood sugar can raise the risk of having a miscarriage.
- Hypothyroidism. If you are on thyroid hormone replacement therapy, your hormone level could be high, possibly increasing the risk of miscarriage.
- Obesity. A higher BMI can result in menstrual dysfunction and irregular ovulation. This can affect endometrial implantation and has been shown to contribute to an increased risk of miscarriage.
“It’s important to understand that having a miscarriage is not your fault, and there is nothing you can do to prevent a chemical pregnancy,” Solberg said. “In almost every case, early pregnancy loss happens due to factors outside of your control. Factors such as exercising and having sex do not cause miscarriage.”
Diagnosing Chemical Pregnancy
If you had a positive pregnancy test but later suspect a chemical pregnancy, your health care provider can do several things to make a diagnosis. These include –
- A pregnancy test. Your provider will do a blood test to confirm you are not pregnant.
- Additional blood tests. If your first blood test reveals elevated HCG, your provider might take another test. The first test will give a baseline and let your provider know if you might be pregnant. The second test will show whether HCG is increasing or decreasing. A chemical pregnancy causes HCG levels to drop, which means the second test will reveal much lower levels.
- Ultrasound. This imaging test can confirm that a fetus is not developing in the uterus.There is no treatment for a chemical pregnancy.
How to Process Your Emotions
Having an early pregnancy loss can be devastating, causing feelings of sadness and grief for you and your partner, especially if you have been trying to get pregnant. Talking to a therapist may help you process these feelings and move forward.
Sometimes, you might experience physical symptoms after a miscarriage, such as appetite loss, fatigue, and trouble sleeping. You may also feel guilt or anger, sometimes toward others who have had healthy babies and sometimes toward your partner, who may be handling the loss differently than you. All of these feelings are normal and part of the grieving process.
When you feel ready, you can try again to get pregnant. Talk with your provider about how long to wait.
“It takes time to heal emotionally after an early pregnancy loss,” Solberg said. “It is appropriate to start trying to conceive whenever you feel emotionally ready. But it can also help to know that many people who have had miscarriages go on to have successful pregnancies.”