What Is a Miscarriage?

A miscarriage is the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy. The medical term for a miscarriage is spontaneous abortion. But it isn’t an abortion in the common meaning of the term.As many as 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage — most often before a woman misses a menstrual period or even knows they’re pregnant. About 15%-25% of recognized pregnancies will end in a miscarriage.More than 80% of miscarriages happen within the first 3 months of pregnancy. Miscarriages are less likely to happen after 20 weeks. When they do, doctors call them late miscarriages.