7.2 Miscarriage Flashcards
What is early miscarriage?
before 12 weeks gestation
What is late miscarriage?
between 12 and 24 weeks gestation
What are the types of miscarriage?
Missed Threatened Inevitable Incomplete Complete Anembryonic pregnancy
What happens in a missed miscarriage?
Missed miscarriage – the fetus is no longer alive, but no symptoms have occurred
What happens in a threatened miscarriage?
Threatened miscarriage – vaginal bleeding with a closed cervix and a fetus that is alive
What happens in an inevitable miscarriage?
Inevitable miscarriage – vaginal bleeding with an open cervix
What happens in an incomplete miscarriage?
Incomplete miscarriage – retained products of conception remain in the uterus after the miscarriage
What happens in a complete miscarriage?
Complete miscarriage – a full miscarriage has occurred, and there are no products of conception left in the uterus
What happens in an anembryonic pregnancy?
Anembryonic pregnancy – a gestational sac is present but contains no embryo
What is your investigation for a miscarriage?
Transvaginal US
What features are looked at on a TVUS when investigating possible miscarriage?
- Mean gestational sac diameter
- Fetal pole and crown-rump length
- Fetal heartbeat
(each appear sequentially in pregnancy and make the one before less important)
At what crown-rump length is a fetal heartbeat expected?
7mm or more
What do you do when crown rump length is above or below 7mm but there is no heartbeat?
below 7mm - repeat scan in one week to ensure heartbeat develops
above 7mm - repeat in one week to confirm non-viable pregnancy
When is a fetal pole expected?
When mean gestational sac diameter is 25mm
What do you do is mean gestational sac diameter is >25mm but no fetal pole?
repeat the scan in one week before confirming an anembryonic pregnancy
