Pregnancy and perinatal losses: general concepts

Abstract

Determining and, by extension, preventing loss of pregnancy is of utmost importance to a reproductive medicine practioner. However,
determining the cause of fetal loss can be a frustrating experience to the clinician and the diagnostician. In general, diagnostic
rates are very low amongst any domestic animal species and the phrase ‘the cause of fetal loss was not apparent’ is considered a
failure of the diagnostic approach. However, the owner, clinician and diagnostician should consider the value of negative findings
in any abortion investigation in light of the clinical circumstances, condition of fetal tissues, diagnostic tests performed, and the
gross and histologic findings. In contrast to pregnancy loss, performing postmortem diagnostics to perinatal mortality cases can
be a rewarding endeavor depending on the species and the circumstances. Whereas complete postmortem examination can be
intimidating to the clinician, it is a technical skill that can be easily mastered with practice. A general practitioner should be aware
that portions of postmortem diagnostics (primarily the postmortem examination) can be performed ‘in house’ and may provide
benefits such as timely results and increased revenue to the practice.