Miscarriage Research
A miscarriage is the loss of a fetus caused from natural complications before the 20th week of pregnancy. Many women have some bleeding or cramping at least once during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. A substantial percentage of women who have this complication will have a miscarriage. Almost all of the miscarriages happen in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy and the most likely cause is abnormalities of the fetus. The remaining causes are unknown or are caused by the mother.
Before the miscarriage a woman ordinarily has bleeding or discharge from the vagina. Then the uterus contracts, which causes the cramps. If the miscarriage progresses, the bleeding, discharge and cramps become much more pronounced This develops to the point of eliminating part or all of the contents of the uterus. A suction curretage must be performed to empty the uterus if part of the contents are not expelled. If the fetus is dead but remains in the uterus, it must be removed by the doctor.
