Women's HealthPending review
Miscarriage
Loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks, usually because a chromosomally abnormal conceptus stops developing and the uterus then separates and expels it: the clinical subtype simply reflects how far that expulsion has progressed.
First principles
Most early miscarriage is a genetic quality-control mechanism
The majority of first-trimester miscarriages occur because the conceptus carries a chromosomal abnormality incompatible with ongoing development. The pregnancy stops growing before the mother has any symptoms, and it is the body's subsequent, sometimes delayed, response to that non-viable tissue that produces the clinical picture, not an active process attacking a healthy pregnancy.
Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.