Definitions

Miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy before 23 completed weeks. Early miscarriage is more precisely defined as pregnancy loss in the first 12 weeks and late miscarriage as pregnancy loss thereafter. Approximately 20% of pregnancies miscarry [29]

Ectopic pregnancy occurs where a fertilized ovum is implanted in any tissue other than the uterine endometrium.

Antepartum haemorrhage (APH) is defined as vaginal bleeding occurring from the 24th week of pregnancy and prior to the birth of the baby.

Rhesus D antigen is found on the surface of RBC and is capable of inducing intense antigenic reactions.  Individuals without the antigen are determined rhesus negative and are homozygous recessive.