Complications in Early Pregnancy

Early in pregnancy women frequently experience nausea, vomiting, and vaginal bleeding. Nausea and vomiting can be mild, managed by dietary modifications and medications, or severe, requiring intravenous fluids and medications. Care should be used when selecting medications for nausea to avoid additional side effects or potential harm to the developing fetus. When evaluating vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy must be ruled out. If an intrauterine pregnancy is seen, threatened miscarriage should be considered and the patient appropriately counseled. If neither intrauterine pregnancy nor ectopic pregnancy can be established, a management algorithm for pregnancy of unknown location is presented.