OBJECTIVES Pregnancy loss in women suffering from hyperthyroidism has been described in case reports, but the risk of pregnancy loss caused by maternal hyperthyroidism in a population is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the association between maternal hyperthyroidism and pregnancy loss in a population-based cohort study. STUDY DESIGN All pregnancies in Denmark from 1997 to 2008 leading to hospi...

BACKGROUND Some epidemiologic studies have suggested that the ingestion of caffeine increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, but the results have been inconsistent. METHODS We performed a population-based, case-control study of early spontaneous abortion in Uppsala County, Sweden. The subjects were 562 women who had spontaneous abortion at 6 to 12 completed weeks of gestation (the case pat...

CONTEXT Nearly half of unintended pregnancies and more than one-fifth of all pregnancies in the United States end in abortion. No nationally representative statistics on abortion incidence or on the universe of abortion providers have been available since 1996. METHODS In 2001-2002, The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) conducted its 13th survey of all known U.S. abortion providers, collecting ...

The following guidelines reflect a collation of the evaluable medical literature about surgical abortion prior to 7 weeks of gestation. Early surgical abortion carries lower risks of morbidity and mortality than procedures performed later in gestation. Surgical abortion is safe, practicable and successful as early as 3 weeks from the start of last menses (no gestational sac visible on vaginal u...

Trophoblast proliferation and invasion are the hall marks of early placental development, defects in trophoblast proliferation and invasion may lead to early pregnancy loss. However, the key molecules that participate in these processes are largely unknown. The study presents here showed that the mRNA and protein levels of osteopontin (OPN) are down-regulated in placental villi tissue from pati...

The availability of new medical techniques for induced abortion in the first trimester enables observation of the incidence and nature of embryonic and fetal abnormalities in early pregnancy. 506 women, presenting to the Liverpool (England) Women's Hospital in 1994-96 for induced abortion before 9 weeks of gestation, were given oral mifepristone followed by oral misoprostol. Fetal tissue was ...

BACKGROUND The dose of mifepristone approved by most government agencies for medical abortion is 600 mg. Our aim was to summarize extant data on the effectiveness and safety of regimens using the widely recommended lower mifepristone dose, 200 mg, followed by misoprostol in early pregnancy and to explore potential correlates of abortion failure. STUDY DESIGN To identify eligible reports, we s...

CONTEXT The incidence of abortion has declined nearly every year between 1990 and 2005, but this trend may be ending, or at least leveling off. Access to abortion services is a critical issue, particularly since the number of abortion providers has been falling for the last three decades. METHODS In 2009 and 2010, all facilities known or expected to have provided abortion services in 2007 and...

BACKGROUND Although abortion is legally available in South Africa, barriers to access exist. Early medical abortion is available to women with a gestational age up to 63 days and timely access is essential. This study aimed to determine women's acceptability and ability to self-assess eligibility for early medical abortion using an online gestational age calculator. Women's acceptability, views...

The frequency of chromosomal anomalies in spermatozoa appears to increase with male age. Because these anomalies play a role in the etiology of spontaneous abortion, an influence of paternal age on risk of spontaneous abortion is plausible but not established. The aim was to characterize this influence in a prospective study among 5,121 California women, who as members of a prepaid health plan ...