Threatened Miscarriage Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments
Pregnancy and childbirth is a wonderful time for parents and their families. All are very much excited about the arrival of the baby. But sometimes, pregnancy period may also be filled with anxiety. Many pregnant women often worry about suffering a miscarriage especially during the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy), when the chances of miscarriage are high.
In the first trimester about 30 percent of the women experience the signs of miscarriage like vaginal bleeding or spotting. But when doctor examines them, everything seems to be fine with the baby. This condition in which a pregnant women experiences the signs of miscarriage but not actually miscarry is known as a threatened miscarriage or a threatened abortion.
Threatened miscarriage indicates that there is a chance that the pregnancy will end in a miscarriage. Not all threatened miscarriages end in a pregnancy loss. Only about 30 percent of the threatened miscarriage cases end in pregnancy loss while the others result in a live birth.
Causes of Threatened Miscarriage
In most of the cases, the causes of threatened miscarriages are rarely determined. But there are various causes that can lead to vaginal bleeding which include:
- Ovarian cysts or uterine fibroids
- Polyps
- Hormonal changes
- Cervical inflammation caused during sexual intercourse
- Ecotopic pregnancy
- Hormonal changes
- Infections like pelvic inflammatory disease or STDs
Signs and Symptoms of Threatened Miscarriage
The most common symptom of threatened miscarriage is vaginal bleeding, which may appear brown, light pink or bright red. The vaginal bleeding may be in a form of light spotting or heavy bleeding. Sometimes the bleeding may contain small or large blood clots. The other signs and symptoms of a threatened miscarriage include:
- Stomach cramps
- Period-like cramps
- Lower back pain
- Pain and cramping in lower abdomen
- Heavy feeling in the stomach or pelvis during the first trimester
Threatened Miscarriage Diagnosis
Even if bleeding is one of the pregnancy symptoms, it's very important to visit or inform your health care provider. He may diagnose and tell whether or not you are at a risk of a miscarriage.
Your health care provider will perform a pelvic exam to check the size and shape of your uterus. He will also check whether your cervix is open or closed. If the cervix is dilated or effaced (thinned out), the risk of developing a miscarriage is more. He may also perform pregnancy ultrasound checkup to analyze the baby. This helps in checking the position of the baby in the uterus, baby's growth and its heartbeat.
Treatment for Threatened Miscarriage
There is no treatment that can stop vaginal bleeding completely. But there are various threatened miscarriage treatments, which can reduce the risk of miscarriage. They include:
- Wait and Watch: As long as your baby appears healthy and bleeding is minimal, your health care provider will take a wait and watch approach.
- Pelvic Rest: Your health care provider may prescribe pelvic rest in order to prevent the sensitive cervix from being damaged. He will ask you to avoid sex and use of tampons or douches for a certain period.
- Reduced Vigorous Activity: Complete bed rest is not recommended as a treatment for threatened miscarriage these days. But your health care provider may ask you to reduce the amount of vigorous activity as they can increase the risk of miscarriage.
- Progesterone: This is an uncommon treatment for threatened miscarriage. Your health care provider may give you progesterone to relax the uterine muscles and reduce the risk of miscarriage.