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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may do a variety of tests:
- Pelvic exam. Your doctor will check to see if your cervix has begun to dilate.
- Ultrasound. This helps your doctor check for a fetal heartbeat and determine if the embryo is developing normally.
- Blood tests. If you've miscarried, measurements of the pregnancy hormone, beta HCG, can occasionally be useful in determining if you've completely passed all placental tissue.
- Tissue tests. If you have passed tissue, it can be sent to the laboratory to confirm that a miscarriage has occurred — and that your symptoms aren't related to another cause of pregnancy bleeding.
Possible diagnoses include:
- Threatened miscarriage. If you're bleeding but your cervix hasn't begun to dilate, there is a threat of miscarriage. Such pregnancies often proceed without any further problems.
- Inevitable miscarriage. If you're bleeding, your uterus is contracting and your cervix is dilated, a miscarriage is inevitable.
- Incomplete miscarriage. If you pass some of the fetal or placental material but some remains in your uterus, it's considered an incomplete miscarriage.
- Missed miscarriage. The placental and embryonic tissues remain in the uterus, but the embryo has died or was never formed.
- Complete miscarriage. If you have passed all the pregnancy tissues, it's considered a complete miscarriage. This is common for miscarriages occurring before 12 weeks.
- Septic miscarriage. If you develop an infection in your uterus, it's known as a septic miscarriage. This can be a very severe infection and demands immediate care.
References
- Zuccala SJ, et al. Spontaneous miscarriage. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00028-7--sc0160&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00028-7--sc0160&uniqId=217216664-3. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Katz VL. Spontaneous and Recurrent Abortion: Etiology, Diagnosis, Treatment. In: Katz VL, et al., eds. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/217216664-7/0/1524/100.html?tocnode=53759223&fromURL=100.html. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Simpson JL, et al. Pregnancy loss. In: Gabbe, SG, et al. Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/217216664-3/0/1528/242.html?tocnode=57027393&fromURL=242.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06930-7..50026-8_1154. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Early pregnancy loss: Miscarriage and moloar pregnancy.The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp090.cfm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Tulandi T, et al. Spontaneous abortion: Risk factors, etiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnostic evaluation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Tulandi T, et al. Spontaneous abortion: Management. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.
- Puscheck EE, et al. The impact of male factor on recurrent pregnancy loss. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology: 2007;19:222..
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 7, 2010.
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