Abortion - threatened

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Early pregnancy

Miscarriage

Threatened miscarriage; Threatened spontaneous abortion

Some studies show that women who receive prenatal care have better pregnancy outcomes, for themselves and their babies. Early and complete prenatal care decreases the risk of miscarriage.

It is better to detect and treat known maternal disorders before conception occurs than to wait until you're already pregnant. Avoiding environmental hazards such as x-rays and infectious diseases also decreases the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy.

Spontaneous abortion is not preventable if the fetus dies. In fact, it is important for the uterus to expel all of its contents (the products of conception) in such cases. A missed abortion occurs when a dead fetus is not expelled from the uterus. When only part of the dead fetus is expelled, it is called an incomplete abortion.

Review Date: 08/08/2005
Reviewed By: Sharon Roseanne Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., Clinical Fellow, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.