Introduction
A threatened miscarriage occurs when a woman has vaginal bleeding during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy but the pregnancy has not ended. If you have vaginal bleeding during this time, your health care provider will do tests to make sure you are still pregnant. If the tests show that you are still pregnant and that the developing baby (fetus) inside your uterus is still growing, your condition is considered a threatened miscarriage.
A threatened miscarriage does not mean your pregnancy will end, but it does increase the risk of losing your pregnancy (complete miscarriage).
What are the causes?
The cause of a threatened miscarriage is usually not known. For women who go on to have a complete miscarriage, the most common cause is an
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Recreational drug use.
What are the signs or symptoms?
Symptoms of this condition include:
Vaginal bleeding.
Mild abdominal pain or cramps.
How is this diagnosed?
If you have bleeding with or without abdominal pain before 20 weeks of pregnancy, your health care provider will do tests to check whether you are still pregnant. These will include:
Ultrasound. This test uses sound waves and a computer to create images of the inside of your uterus. This allows your health care provider to look at your developing baby and other structures, such as your placenta.
Pelvic exam. This is an internal exam of your vagina and cervix.
Measurement of your baby's heart rate.
Laboratory tests such as blood tests, urine tests, or swabs for infection
You may be diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage if:
Ultrasound testing shows that you are still pregnant.
Your baby’s heart rate is strong.
A pelvic exam shows that the opening between your uterus and your vagina (cervix) is closed.
Blood tests confirm that you are still pregnant.
How is this treated?
No treatments have been shown to prevent a threatened miscarriage from going on to a complete miscarriage. However, the right home care is
During pregnancy an echocardiogram of the fetus can be done to produce images of the heart by sending ultrasonic sound waves to the vital organ. These sound waves create an image for the physician to analyze the babies heart function, structure sizes, and blood flow. A positive diagnosis before birth has shown to improve chances of survival, and will allow for appropriate care to be readily available at birth. If a baby is born without being diagnosed with the heart defect, some symptoms previous noted such as low oxygen levels can be suggestive of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The baby may not display any symptoms or signs for hours after birth because of the openings allowing for blood to be pumped to the rest of the body. However, listening to the babies heart can revel a murmur indicating an irregular flow of blood in the heart. If a murmur is heard, or signs of the defect are observed, diagnostic tests will be ordered and performed. An echocardiogram is still the go-to test once the baby is born to evaluate the heart. The echocardiogram will diagnose the newborn, by revealing the underdeveloped left ventricle, mitral and aortic valve, and the ascending aorta commonly seen in
...regiver sees signs of separation, they could ask you to push gently one more time to help get the placenta out. After the placenta is out you are completely done with the process of giving birth.
When a mother finds out she is pregnant it is a wonderful experience. Most people are excited to see their first “picture” of their baby, the ultrasound. Even more exciting is getting an ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. But ultrasounds are useful for more than just getting that first image of the fetus or finding out whether it is a boy or a girl. While it is something most parents dread finding out when pregnant, an ultrasound can also detect a birth defect. There are many different birth defects that can be detected by an ultrasound during pregnancy like Spina Bifida, Down syndrome, and abnormalities with the heart and lower urinary tract, and the importance of detecting them with an ultrasound is shown in the benefits of discovering the birth defect early, and the options it gives the parents after discovering the birth defect.
Being healthy while pregnant is an important factor when considering carrying a baby. The risk of dying by giving birth is higher than having an abortion (ProCon). Not at women can handle the negatives of giving birth and survive through them. If a woman is aware that should is not healthy enough to give birth, she
If having the baby would harm the mother’s mental or physical health more than having an abortion. This has to involve the mother explaining how she feels about the pregnancy to a doctor.
medicines to cause a miscarriage or by surgery, where the pregnancy is out of the uterus. The
Even if having a baby is a danger to the body of the mother, abortion is not an option. After the viability point abortion is illegal. The viability point is the baby’s ability to survive outside of the
Pregnancy can be an exciting and sometimes frightening experience for many women. It was a snowy Sunday afternoon, and I was not feeling very well. I remember all week long, every morning I felt nauseated. I was craving odd foods, and foods I normally would not eat together. I was on the phone with my best friend explaining to her how I was feeling. She said “It sounds like you are pregnant.” That thought never even crossed my mind until that moment. Sure enough she was right, I was pregnant for the first time. I was excited to have a baby and never realized how many emotions or complications can take place during a pregnancy. Everybody that I knew that had babies, had such wonderful experiences. Unfortunately, this happy moment became such a monumental, emotional and stressful time in my life. During my pregnancy, I went through many emotional experiences from almost losing my child, to the uncertainty of a birth defect and early delivery.
Gale Group. (2013, May). Maternal Complications from Placenta Previa. Retrieved May 06, 2013, from Galenet: http://140.234.20.9:8080/EPSessionID=838ee1ba12d4ed675b34eeada9e17bc/EPHost=galenet.galegroup.com/EPPath/servlet/HWRC/hits?docNum=A246374229&index3=KE&index2=KE&index1=FT&tcit=0_1_0_0_0_1&locID=lac73470&rlt=6&text3=&text2=&origSearch=false&text1=maternal+
...most common risk is death. Death is a very common risk if you decided to abort in your late term because you are losing lots of blood which came from the baby that you were going to have. Therefore think about your decision twice and don’t make the same mistake twice.
It is currently the best way of making sure that an unborn baby is doing well during labor.” Not only does the electronic fetal monitor keep a paper record of the baby’s heart rate, it also records uterine contractions to see how well the baby is handling the stress of contractions. Fetal monitoring is used in many cases of birth; premature, Cesarean sections, when the mother is anesthetized with general anesthesia, or when a spinal anesthetic is used.
• You may have tests of your blood pressure and kidney function after giving birth.
...f a bed rest you'll need calm down your stress levels. The test is very simple. The pregnant woman will sit in a comfortable chair have 2 belts attached to her stomach, and clicks the beeper when she feels a movement. The printed just runs out the stress levels. This is also called the Braxton-Hicks contractions (Braxton-Hicks contractions 1).
Additionally, the reason miscarriages are under recorded at times is because they occur before the woman even knows she is pregnant, so they may be confused as a late period. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 10-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage. What is referred to as a “chemical pregnancy” also falls in this category, which accounts for 50-75% of all miscarriages. Moreover, chemical pregnancies are given this term because they are pregnancies that end very soon after a positive test result. Imagine taking a pregnancy test one day and having a faint positive result and testing again a few days later and getting a negative result. This is an extremely early misc...
Newborn screening is the practice in which the harmful or potentially fatal conditions that can affect the infant's health or survival are detected. This process can prevent death or health problems and protect the infant against certain diseases and medical conditions. Newborn screening started in 1960's when many states in U.S.A. established a newborn test program for phenylketonuria (PKU) by using the Guthrie method, a system for the collection and transportation of blood samples on filter paper. Many Infants showed developments while receiving treatment. This success led to the addition of tests for other metabolic diseases. Over time, tests were added for endocrine disorders and now newborn screening program include more than 50 individual conditions.