The prognosis in pregnancy after threatened abortion.

Abstract

A study of the outcome of pregnancy in 143 cases of threatened abortion is presented. Fetal life was confirmed by ultrasonic technique during the 1st half of pregnancy. 7% of the pregnancies terminated in abortion and the remainder ended in delivery. The frequency of preeclampsia (21%) and placenta praevia (3%) was significantly higher than in the control group, as was the case with the number of manual removals (6) of the placenta (p less than .001). Breech extractions were required in 5 cases. 13.2% of the deliveries occurred before Week 37 of pregnancy, and 8.1% of the infants weighed less than 2500 gm. The perinatal mortality rate (3.7%) and the frequency of infant malformation (5.2%) were not statistically significant compared with the control group. However, the frequency of respiratory difficulties (14.7%) and hyperbilirubinemia (8.1%) was significantly higher (p less than .001). It was concluded that a pregnancy continuing after threatened abortion does not noticeably increase the risk of severe infant malformations or perinatal death, though mothers with threatened abortion constitute a high-risk group that requires careful follow-up.