Abstract
Spontaneous abortion is defined as death of the embryo before attaining viability, i.e. prior to the period when it becomes able to maintain independent life. This viability was once held to be reached at 28 weeks of pregnancy following the first day of the last menstrual period (Hook and Porter 1980). But as now defined, in keeping with the success of medical technology in keeping younger fetuses alive (Anon. 1988b), spontaneous abortion is death of the conceptus before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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Kalter, H. (2012). Spontaneous Abortion. In: A History of Diabetes in Pregnancy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1557-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1557-8_4
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