Cunningham, D. S., Bledsoe, L. D., Tichenor, J. R., & Opsahl, M. S. (1995). Ultrasonographic characteristics of first-trimester gestations in recurrent spontaneous aborters. The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 40(8), 565-570.
Cunningham, D. S., et al. "Ultrasonographic characteristics of first-trimester gestations in recurrent spontaneous aborters." The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, vol. 40, no. 8, 1995, pp. 565-570.
For EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley:
License
No open license is recorded for this paper. Reuse terms are set by the publisher.
Abstract
Objective
To compile, for the first time, serial ultrasonographic findings during the first trimester of pregnancy in women with a history of primary recurrent spontaneous abortion so as to define the dynamics of early normal and abnormal gestations in this category of gravidas.
Study Design
Transvaginal ultrasonograms were obtained weekly from 5 to 12 weeks' gestational age in 40 women, 10 each of four groups: recurrent spontaneous aborters and primiparas (controls), with both successful and failed gestations.
Results
Embryonic heart motion was detected in 40-50% of successful pregnancies during the fifth week of gestation and in the balance by the sixth week, while heart motion was detected in no more than 50% of pregnancies that later failed. Of the failed pregnancies, all were evident by the eighth week of gestation, including those with previously documented viability. The gestational sac size and crown-rump length were smaller than expected in both failed groups, with the sac size difference evident as early as week 5 and the crown-rump length difference apparent by week 7.
Conclusion
Appropriate timing of the initial ultrasonogram in recurrent aborters (i.e., 8 weeks' gestational age) can identify, by means of heart motion and gestational sac features, all pregnancies that will ultimately fail.
