Abortion - Spontaneous

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Spontaneous Abortion Complications

• Retained dead fetal tissue in the uterus is referred to as an incomplete abortion. This may cause infection and the retained uterine tissue must be removed surgically (D and C ).
• An infection may occur after either a complete or incomplete abortion.
• In a missed abortion, the demise of the pregnancy is discovered before the appearance of any symptoms. A D and C, or a D and E can be performed to remove all of the dead tissue. Some patients choose to await spontaneous expulsion.
• The death of a second or third trimester pregnancy is addressed differently than a first trimester loss. These are usually called intrauterine fetal demises (IUFD). If the dead fetus remains in the uterus for too long, an abnormal activation of blood clotting systems (coagulation and fibrinolytic systems) can develop in response to the release of anti-clotting chemicals from the retained dead fetus. This can adversely affect maternal health.