Miscarriage - Signs and Symptoms

Florian Tiefenböck studied human medicine at the LMU Munich. In March 2014, he joined as a student and has supported the editorial team with medical articles ever since. After receiving his medical license and practical work in internal medicine at the University Hospital Augsburg, he has been a permanent member of the team since December 2019 and, among other things, ensures the medical quality of the tools.

More posts by Florian Tiefenböck All content is checked by medical journalists.

The signs of miscarriage depend on how and at what point in the pregnancy the abortion occurs. The most common sign is sudden, heavy bleeding from the vagina. Labor or labor-like pain are also signs of miscarriage. Here you can read how you can recognize an impending or already occurred miscarriage.

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. O03O06

Impending abortion

In the event of an impending abortion (medical: abortus imminens), the first symptoms of miscarriage are vaginal bleeding. Contractions can also occur. However, the cervix is ​​closed. The bleeding usually occurs as a result of a bruise (hematoma) in the placenta. To avoid miscarriage, the pregnant woman should rest strictly in bed.

Beginning abortion

An incipient abortion is medically called "abortus incipiens". In contrast to the impending abortion, the cervix is ​​already open here. Signs of miscarriage are bleeding and painful labor. As a rule, abortions can no longer be prevented at this stage. It usually goes into the ...

... incomplete or complete abortion

The incomplete abortion, also abortus incompletus, is considered a preliminary stage of the complete abortion (abortus completus). Symptoms are similar to those of the beginning abortion. In the former, only part of the fruit is expelled, whereas in a complete miscarriage, both the fetus and the membranes and placenta are expelled.

Moderate abortion

This form (English: missed abortion) is particularly treacherous. There are no typical external miscarriage symptoms here. There is no bleeding or pain. When the cervix is ​​closed, nothing is expelled. Doctors diagnose this miscarriage with an ultrasound. An embryo is found that has no signs of life such as heart sounds. In addition, the uterus stops growing.

Feverish abortion

This so-called abortus febrilis usually shows itself with a fever between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius and purulent discharge from the vagina. If left untreated, this type of miscarriage can be life-threatening. One then speaks of septic abortion with severe blood clotting disorders up to multi-organ failure.

Diaper

The diaper egg is an improperly developed fertilized egg. The ultrasound shows an empty amniotic sac without an embryo, usually less than three centimeters. A diaper perishes in the first few weeks. Its frequency is 50 to 90 percent of spontaneous abortions in the second month of pregnancy. As with the restrained abortion, there are hardly any signs of a miscarriage. Typically, spotting is the only symptom.

Habitual abortion

Habitual abortion is when a woman has three or more miscarriages. Habitual abortions account for 0.5 to 1 percent of all miscarriages. The most common causes include changes in a parent's genetic makeup or an aggressive immune system in the woman.

The type of abortion and the signs of the miscarriage determine how the affected woman is treated.

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