Miscarriage
- Miscarriage Overview
- Miscarriage Causes
- Miscarriage Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
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Miscarriage Overview
A miscarriage (also termed spontaneous abortion) is any pregnancy that spontaneously ends before the fetus can survive. Any vaginal bleeding, other than spotting, during early pregnancy is considered a threatened miscarriage. Vaginal bleeding is very common in early pregnancy.
About one out of every four pregnant women has some bleeding during the first few months. About half of these women stop bleeding and complete a normal pregnancy.
- Threatened miscarriage - Vaginal bleeding
during early pregnancy. The bleeding and pain with threatened miscarriage
are usually mild and the cervical os (the mouth of the womb) is closed. Your health care provider will be able to determine if the cervical os is open upon performing a pelvic exam.
Typically, no tissue is passed from the womb. The womb and Fallopian
tubes may be tender.
- Inevitable miscarriage - Vaginal bleeding along with opening of the cervical os. In this situation, vaginal bleeding is present, and the mouth of the womb is open (dilated). Bleeding is usually more severe, and abdominal pain and cramping often occur.
- Incomplete miscarriage - Expulsion of some, but not all, of the products of conception before
the twentieth week of pregnancy. With incomplete miscarriage, the
bleeding is heavier, and abdominal pain is almost always present. The mouth of the womb is open, and the pregnancy is being expelled. Ultrasound would show some material still remaining in the womb.
- Complete miscarriage - Expulsion of all products of conception from the womb including fetus and placental tissues. Complete miscarriage is just as it sounds. Bleeding, abdominal pain, and the passing of tissue have all occurred, but the bleeding and pain have usually stopped. If you can see the fetus, you have miscarried. Ultrasound shows an empty womb.
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Miscarriage
Fibroids Overview
A uterine fibroid is the most common benign (not cancerous) tumor of a woman's uterus (womb). Fibroids develop with the uterine wall or attach to it. They may grow as a single tumor or in clusters. Uterine fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and frequent urination.
- These growths occur in about 25% of all women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) in the United States. Of every woman older than 35 years, 1 in 5 has a uterine fibroid. An estimated 600,000 hysterectomies (removal of the uterus) are performed in the US annually, and at least one-third are for fibroids. Medications and newer, less invasive surgery can control the growth of fibroids.
- Fibroids start in the muscle tissues of the uterus. They can grow into the uterine cavity, into the thickness of the uterine wall, or on the surface of the uterus into the abdominal cavity. Although these tumors ...
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First-Trimester Pregnancy Loss »
An abortion is the spontaneous or induced loss of an early pregnancy.

