The following provides information on miscarriage and an overview of the different types of miscarriage that may occur and the physical signs associated with them. This will hopefully give you a better understanding about what has happened (or is happening) when a pregnancy does not continue past the earlier weeks, or miscarries.
Miscarriages can be classified as:
Threatened miscarriage
Inevitable miscarriage
Missed miscarriage
A 'chemical pregnancy'
Blighted ovum
Ectopic pregnancy
Molar Pregnancy
Recurrent miscarriage
NOTE:The medical term for miscarriage is 'abortion'. Therefore sometimes you will hear a miscarriage being termed as a 'threatened abortion' or a 'missed abortion'. This can be distressing for some people who usually associate the term 'abortion', with the intentional ending of a pregnancy. The medical terms to distinguish these are 'spontaneous abortion' (or 'SA') for a miscarriage, and an 'induced abortion' (or 'IA') for an operation to terminate a pregnancy (also written as 'TOP'). However, in recent years caregivers are more likely to use the term 'miscarriage' (or 'M/C').
Other terms which can sound harsh and uncaring can be the baby being referred to as an 'embryo' (if the miscarriage is before 6 to 7 weeks) or a 'fetus' if the baby is more than this
gestation. A medical term given to the actual baby and placenta lost through miscarriage can be 'products of conception' (or 'POC').
Threatened miscarriage
What should I do?
A threatened miscarriage is when the woman is showing physical signs that she may or may not be experiencing a miscarriage. The most common physical sign of a threatened miscarriage is vaginal bleeding, spotting or a blood-stained discharge. The blood can be bright red (fresh), pink (very light) or brownish in colour (old blood from a few days previous), with the amount varying from woman to woman.