This is the second edition of this guideline, which was previously published in October 2000 under the same title.
This guideline reviews recent information related to the diagnosis and clinical management of women with early pregnancy loss, defined as a loss within the first 12 completed weeks of pregnancy. It mainly reviews management of spontaneous miscarriage but is also relevant to women affected by ectopic pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease. Specific evidence-based clinical management for both these conditions has recently been reviewed and information has been published in other RCOG Guidelines. The management of couples with recurrent miscarriage is addressed in RCOG Guideline No.17, The Investigation and Treatment of Couples with Recurrent Miscarriage. Gynaecologists should be familiar with the various diagnostic tools available to help delineate viable from non-viable pregnancy and ectopic from intrauterine pregnancy. The place of the various diagnostic modalities should be clearly defined within unit-specific algorithms. The full range of therapeutic options (expectant, medical and surgical) should be available to women who miscarry. Apart from certain specific clinical circumstances,women should be able to choose their preferred method of management.
This guideline can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking the link below.
A Russian language translation of this guideline is also available:
