GYNAECOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Miscarriage

A miscarriage is a very common event. Approximately 10 to 15% of pregnancies result in a miscarriage. The majority of patients develop bleeding and sometimes pain in the early stages of pregnancy. The commonest time of miscarriage is between 7 and 12 weeks from the last period. Approximately 50% of miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities. This means that the pregnancy was developing abnormally and was never going to develop into a full grown baby. Most chromosomal abnormalities are spontaneous or sporadic. They are not usually caused by something inherited. Either the growth of cells in the early stage of pregnancy has not occurred perfectly or an egg which did not consist of a perfect compliment of chromosomes is fertilised. Many people describe the consequence of miscarriage as being nature's way of dealing with an abnormally growing pregnancy.

There are many other less common causes of miscarriage. Smoking or use of cocaine and other recreational drugs as well as certain chemical agents, such as lead, solvents and pesticides, have been implicated in miscarriages. Certain infections such as listeria or malaria are also causes of miscarriage. In recent years we have discovered that certain blood clotting problems can also be the cause of miscarriage.

The majority of miscarriages can be diagnosed with a single ultrasound scan. Some miscarriages are best treated with surgical evacuation of the tissue left inside the uterus, whilst other miscarriages are best treated conservatively, allowing the products of conception to pass spontaneously.