The definition of a miscarriage is a spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks: in the UK we calculate the duration of a pregnancy from the first day of the last period (LMP). A miscarriage - the medical term for an early pregnancy loss is abortion - tends to start with bleeding, and pain may then develop. Sometimes there may be bleeding early in the pregnancy but the pregnancy continues (threatened abortion). An inevitable abortion means that the pregnancy cannot be salvaged. It may be incomplete, with pregnancy products still in the cavity of the womb or complete with nothing remaining.
The combination of modern pregnancy tests and ultrasound will usually determine the situation quite quickly. Pregnancy tests these days should become positive within ten days of conception (i.e. even before the first missed period). Ultrasound begins to show a pregnancy within the uterus by five or six weeks (a week or two after the first missed period). On occasion, it may be too early to diagnose the situation accurately and tests may need to be repeated to see what changes occur.
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you for choosing to visit us. This is the personal website of David A Viniker MD FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London - Specialist Interests - Reproductive Medicine including Infertility, PCOS, PMS, Menopause and HRT. I do hope that you find the answers to your women's health questions in the patient information and medical advice provided.
