Abortion vs Miscarriage

Abortion is the medical term for any interruption of a pregnancy before a fetus is viable (able to survive
outside the uterus if born at that time). A viable fetus is usually defined as a fetus of more than 20 to 24
weeks of gestation or one that weighs at least 500 g. A fetus born before this point is considered a
miscarriage or premature or immature birth (Cootauco & Althaus, 2007).

Spontaneous Miscarriage

spontaneous miscarriage is an early miscarriage if it occurs before week 16 of pregnancy and a late
miscarriage if it occurs between weeks 16 and 24.

Causes of Spontaneous Miscarriage

The most frequent cause of miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy is abnormal fetal
development, due either to a teratogenic factor or to a chromosomal aberration.

Symptoms

The presenting symptom of spontaneous miscarriage is almost always vaginal spotting.