LONDON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Hundreds of women may be ending healthy, viable pregnancies unnecessarily each year after being told wrongly that they have miscarried, British researchers say.
Experts at Imperial College London say current guidelines are not always reliable in determining whether women in early pregnancy have suffered miscarriages, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
"Currently, there is a risk that some women seeking reassurance with pain or bleeding in early pregnancy may be told they have had a miscarriage and choose to undergo surgical or medical treatment when the pregnancy is in fact healthy," ICL Professor Tom Bourne said.
As many as 400 viable pregnancies may be wrongly classified as miscarriages every year, researchers said.
New guidelines should include a "watch and wait" strategy rather than immediately telling worried women they should undergo a medical abortion, they said.
"The anxiety associated with being uncertain about the status of a pregnancy is very significant, but should be balanced against the possibility of inadvertent termination, which is surely the worst possible outcome for any woman," a report on the study said.
