Emergency care for problems after miscarriage or abortion
Incomplete abortion (tissue left inside the womb)
Incomplete abortion is a common cause of bleeding or infection. The bleeding or
infection will not stop until all the tissue has been removed from the womb.
Wa r nin g s ig n s
• Tissue coming out of the womb. If you
do a pelvic exam you might see pieces of
tissue coming out of the cervix or you
might feel that the womb is still enlarged
because of tissue inside it.
• Infection. The woman might have
a fever, a bad smell coming from
her vagina, or pain in her belly.
(See page 409.)
• Heavy bleeding from the vagina.
(See page 412.)
Tissue or
blood may
come from
the cervix.
Treating incomplete abortion
There are several ways to empty the womb after an incomplete abortion. In this
book, we explain how to use:
• MVA
• medicines
• forceps or other ways to remove tissue from the cervix,
if you cannot use the first 2 methods.
MVA
The best treatment for incomplete abortion is to empty the womb using manual
vacuum aspiration (see Chapter 23). Even though MVA is usually only safe in the
first 3 months of pregnancy, it
is worth trying after 3 months
for a woman who has an
incomplete abortion.
syringe and cannula for
manual vacuum aspiration
407
A Book for Midwives (2010)