A spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, refers to the end of a pregnancy as a result of natural causes up to about 20 weeks. After that time, the death of a fetus is called a stillbirth. Miscarriages are pretty common, especially in the first 12 weeks. The majority of early miscarriages are probably due to fetus gene defects, which are usually mutations, not inherited from the parents. One spontaneous abortion does not increase the risk of having recurrent miscarriages.
Most women subsequently have healthy pregnancies and normal deliveries.
Any woman who suspects she s had a miscarriage should see her doctor immediately, even though treatment isn t always needed. Depending on the situation, the doctor may do an ultrasound exam and run blood tests, or order an analysis of clotty blood that passed out of the vagina. In a complete spontaneous abortion, all the pregnancy-related tissue is expelled from the uterus. When the miscarriage is incomplete, the remaining tissue must be removed from the uterus. Afterward, the woman may need to take antibiotics to avoid infection.