A threatened abortion means the woman has experienced symptoms of bleeding or cramping.

At least one-third of all pregnant women will experience these symptoms.

About half of women with a threatened abortion will go on to abort spontaneously. The other half will see the bleeding and cramping disappear and the remainder of the pregnancy will be normal.

Those women who see their symptoms of first trimester bleeding and cramping disappear, can be reassured that the bleeding in the first trimester will have no effect on the baby and that you expect a full-term, normal, healthy baby.

Ultrasound imaging is very useful in this situation, because it quickly identifies those pregnancies that will continue, and those that will not.

Treatment of threatened abortion should be individualized. Many obstetricians recommend bedrest in some form for women with a threatened abortion. There is no scientific evidence that such treatment changes the outcome of the pregnancy in any way, although some women may feel better if they are at rest.

Other obstetricians feel that being up and active is psychologically better for the patient and will not change the risk of later miscarriage. Among these active women, strenuous physical activity is usually restricted, as is intercourse, until the symptoms resolve.