What is a miscarriage?
Miscarriage is usually defined as an early pregnancy loss. Miscarriage is also called
spontaneous abortion. Types of miscarriage include the following:
Threatened. Spotting or bleeding in the first trimester may or may not mean a miscarriage will
happen. About 10% to 20% of women will miscarry in the first trimester. The woman
is monitored for further bleeding. Ultrasound exams are usually done to monitor growth
of the fetus and to monitor fetal heartbeat.
Complete. The fetus, placenta, and other tissues are passed with bleeding
Incomplete. Only a part of the tissues is passed; some remain in the uterus. There may be heavy
Missed abortion. The embryo or fetus dies, but is not passed out of the uterus. Sometimes, dark brown
spotting happens, but there is no fetal heartbeat or growth.
Septic. This is a miscarriage that becomes infected. The mother develops fever and may have
bleeding and discharge with a foul odor and belly pain is common. This is a serious
condition and can result in shock and organ failure if not treated. Antibiotics and
dilation and curettage (D & C) may be necessary. This procedure uses special instruments
to remove the abnormal pregnancy.
Recurrent. This is 2 or more miscarriages.
What is an incompetent cervix?
Fetal loss in the second trimester may happen when the cervix is weak and opens too
early. This is called incompetent cervix. In some cases of incompetent cervix, a healthcare
provider can help prevent pregnancy loss by suturing the cervix closed until delivery.
This is called a cerclage.
How is miscarriage diagnosed?
The most common signs of miscarriage are vaginal spotting or bleeding, passing of
tissue, and cramping. Ultrasound is usually used to diagnose miscarriage. If the fetus
is no longer in the uterus, or there is no longer a fetal heartbeat, miscarriage is
diagnosed. Other tests that may be used include pregnancy blood tests for the hormone
human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). No increase in this hormone level or a decrease
can indicate that the pregnancy is not growing.
Treatment for miscarriage
Treatment for miscarriage in early pregnancy includes a procedure to remove the fetus
and other tissues if they have not all been naturally passed. The procedure is called
a surgical evacuation of the uterus, or a dilation and curettage (D&C). Anesthesia
is used as the procedure can be painful to the mother. The cervical opening is dilated
(opened) and either suction or an instrument called a curette is used to remove all
the pregnancy tissues inside the uterus. These tissues may be sent to the lab for
culture or testing for genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. However, not all miscarriages
require a D&C. An early miscarriage may also be treated with expectant management
or the drug misoprostol.
Later pregnancy loss may need a different procedure using hormones such as prostaglandin
or Pitocin to cause the uterus to contract and push out the fetus and tissues.
Pregnancy loss does not usually cause other serious medical problems, unless an infection
is present, or unless a missed abortion happened in which the fetus and other tissues
are not passed. A serious complication with a late miscarriage is disseminated intravascular
coagulation (DIC). This is a severe blood clotting problem. This is more likely if
there is a long time (usually a month or more) until the fetus and other tissues are