Threatened Miscarriage

The Basics

Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate пїЅ пїЅ

What is a miscarriage? " пїЅ A miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends before a woman has been pregnant for 20 weeks. (A normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks.) The most common symptoms of a miscarriage are bleeding from the vagina and belly pain or cramping. пїЅ пїЅ

What is a threatened miscarriage? " пїЅ A threatened miscarriage is when a woman has bleeding from the vagina, but her pregnancy has not actually ended. The medical term for a threatened miscarriage is a "threatened spontaneous abortion. " пїЅ пїЅ пїЅ

In a threatened miscarriage, 1 of 2 things can happen. Most of the time, the bleeding will stop on its own and the pregnancy will continue normally. But sometimes, a threatened miscarriage will become a miscarriage. пїЅ пїЅ

Did I do anything to cause my threatened miscarriage? " пїЅ You probably did not do anything to cause your threatened miscarriage. And if your threatened miscarriage becomes a miscarriage, it is also probably not because of anything you did. пїЅ пїЅ

Most of the time, a miscarriage happens when a pregnancy does not grow normally from the beginning. пїЅ пїЅ

What are the symptoms of a threatened miscarriage? " пїЅ Women with a threatened miscarriage have bleeding from the vagina. Some women also have pain in their belly. пїЅ пїЅ

There are other conditions that can cause bleeding from the vagina during the first half of pregnancy. пїЅ пїЅ

Should I call my doctor or nurse? " пїЅ Yes. If you are pregnant and have bleeding from your vagina or pain in your belly, call your doctor or nurse right away. Bleeding during pregnancy can sometimes be a symptom of an emergency condition. пїЅ пїЅ

Will I need tests? " пїЅ Yes. Your doctor or nurse will ask about your symptoms and do an exam. He or she will check for your babys heartbeat. There are 2 main ways doctors can do this. They can use: пїЅ пїЅ

A device called a "fetal Doppler monitor " пїЅ " пїЅ The doctor puts this device on your belly. It uses sound waves to let you hear your baby's heartbeat.
An imaging test called an ultrasound " пїЅ An ultrasound uses sound waves to create pictures of the inside of your body and of your baby. This test can show pictures of your baby's heartbeat.

Your doctor will probably also do a test to measure the amount of "hCG " пїЅ (a pregnancy hormone) in your blood. You might need to have this test again a few days later. пїЅ пїЅ

How is a threatened miscarriage treated? " пїЅ Unfortunately, there are not many reliable treatments for a threatened miscarriage. пїЅ пїЅ

Sometimes, doctors recommend that women with vaginal bleeding lie in bed or avoid having sex, but these treatments have not been shown to help prevent a miscarriage. пїЅ пїЅ

If you have bleeding from your vagina, your doctor will follow your symptoms until one of the following things happen: пїЅ пїЅ

Your bleeding stops, and your doctor has made sure that your pregnancy is growing normally.
You have a miscarriage or another condition that affects your pregnancy. If this happens, your doctor will talk with you about what to do next.

All topics are updated as new evidence becomes available and our peer review process is complete. пїЅ пїЅ

This topic retrieved from UpToDate on: Nov 04, 2014. пїЅ пїЅ

Topic 17047 Version 3.0 пїЅ пїЅ

Release: 22.8 - C22.206 пїЅ пїЅ

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Threatened Miscarriage

The Basics

Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer

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