The management of bleeding in early pregnancy

Ultrasound scan findings were analysed for 187 women referred to an emergency gynaecological scanning clinic during a seven month period, with bleeding in early pregnancy. One sixth of the women were not pregnant, one third had non-viable pregnancies and one half had viable pregnancies; 9% of this latter group subsequently miscarried. For the majority of women referred to the clinic, bed rest would have been inappropriate. In this study the value of bed rest and hospitalisation was considered uncertain for women with viable singleton pregnancies of 7-14 weeks gestation and bleeding in the previous 24 hours. Only 23 women with otherwise uncomplicated pregnancies met these criteria and consented to recruitment to a randomized controlled trial: three subsequently miscarried. Emergency scanning as a routine part of the gynaecological service is recommended, thus confining bed rest to those women with viable pregnancies. Reliable evaluation of bed rest and hospitalisation for such women will require a multicentre study.