Pregnancy outcome of threatened abortion with demonstrable fetal cardiac activity: a cohort study

J Obstet Gynaecol (Tokyo 1995). 1995 Aug;21(4):331-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0756.1995.tb01019.x.

Abstract

Pregnancy with visible fetal heart beat complicated by first trimester threatened abortion had significant increased risk of subsequent spontaneous abortion compared with normal pregnancy.

Objective: To compare pregnancy outcomes in cases complicated by first trimester threatened abortion with those that were not.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 255 cases of first trimester threatened abortions but with visible heart beat and 265 other normal pregnancies.

Results: Spontaneous abortion rates of 5.5% (with relative abortal risk of 2.91) was found for study group, compared to 1.88% for controls (p < 0.05). Preterm delivery was also higher, but was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: First trimester bleeding with visible fetal heart beat appears to associate significantly with higher subsequent spontaneous abortion rate than those without.

MeSH terms

  • Abortion, Threatened / physiopathology*
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Fetal Heart / physiopathology*
  • Heart Rate, Fetal
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Outcome*
  • Pregnancy Trimester, First
  • Prospective Studies