***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Abstract Objective : To estimate the association between maternal age and fetal death ( spontaneous abortion , ectopic pregnancy , stillbirth ) , taking into account a woman 's reproductive history . Design : Prospect i ve register linkage study . Subjects : All women with a reproductive outcome ( live birth , stillbirth , spontaneous abortion leading to admission to hospital , induced abortion , ectopic pregnancy , or hydatidiform mole ) in Denmark from 1978 to 1992 ; a total of 634 272 women and 1 221 546 pregnancy outcomes . Main outcome measures : Age related risk of fetal loss , ectopic pregnancy , and stillbirth , and age related risk of spontaneous abortion stratified according to parity and previous spontaneous abortions . Results : Overall , 13.5 % of the pregnancies intended to be carried to term ended with fetal loss . At age 42 years , more than half of such pregnancies result ed in fetal loss . The risk of a spontaneous abortion was 8.9 % in women aged 20–24 years and 74.7 % in those aged 45 years or more . High maternal age was a significant risk factor for spontaneous abortion irrespective of the number of previous miscarriages , parity , or calendar period . The risk of an ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth also increased with increasing maternal age . Conclusions : Fetal loss is high in women in their late 30s or older , irrespective of reproductive history . This should be taken into consideration in pregnancy planning and counselling An international ten-centre double-blind trial comparing hCG with placebo in the management of habitual abortion was conducted . The dose regime for hCG used was 10,000 IU i.m . on first diagnosis of pregnancy , 5000 IU thence twice weekly to week 12 , followed by once weekly up to week 16 . Identical ampoulage of placebo was used . Seventy-five patients completed the trial . Thirty-six received hCG and thirty-nine placebo . 83 % of the pregnancies on hCG were successful compared with 79 % on placebo ( P = 0.45 ) . Of the 25 defined as having no cause for their habitual abortion history , 83 % on hCG were successful , as were 85 % on placebo ( P = 0.73 ) . No significant differences were found between the two therapies in terms of delivery weight , placental weight or neonatal Apgar score . This study fails to confirm previous promising placebo-controlled data advocating the use of hCG in habitual abortion This study was carried out to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang ( Kyuki-kyogai-to ) , a traditional Chinese herbal medicine , in the treatment of threatened abortion in early pregnancy . We enrolled 72 women diagnosed with threatened abortion at Osaka Medical College Hospital and assigned them at r and om to the following two groups : a group of 36 women who received Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang at a dose of 7.5 g/day and another group of 36 women who received human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)(control group ) . We found that in the Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang group ( 2.9 + or - 3.5 days ) , the number of days required before hemostasis was reached in the uterus was significantly shorter than in the control group ( 10.8 + or - 8.2 days , p < 0.0001 ) . Furthermore , the number of days required for retroplacental hematoma in the vicinity of the gestational sac to disappear was significantly shorter in the Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang group ( 9.9 + or - 7.1 days ) than in the control group ( 23.2 + or - 12.8 days ) ( p < 0.0001 ) . In retroplacental hematoma size , significant rates of reduction were obtained in both major and minor axis measurements at the 7th day of treatment for the Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang group compared to the control group ( control vs Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang : major axis : 7.5 + or - 3.8 % vs 42.3 + or - 10.5 % ; minor axis : 15.3 + or - 16.8 % vs 71.5 + or - 48.2%)(p < 0.0001 , each case ) . The results of this study demonstrated the beneficial effects of Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang in stabilizing early pregnancy . Xiong-gui-jiao-ai-tang can be expected to improve unstable early pregnancy with uterine bleeding and to prevent abortion Abstract Objective : To find out whether women with bacterial vaginosis detected early in pregnancy are at increased risk of preterm delivery . Design : Prospect i ve description cohort study . Setting : Antenatal clinic in a district general hospital . Subjects : 783 women examined during their first antenatal clinic visit and screened for recognised risk factors for preterm delivery and the presence of bacterial vaginosis or intermediate abnormal flora detected by examination of a vaginal smear stained by Gram 's method . Main outcome measures : Gestational age at delivery classified as late miscarriage ( 16 - 24 weeks ' gestation ) , preterm delivery ( 24 - 37 weeks ' gestation ) , term delivery ( > = 37 weeks ' gestation ) . Results : Multiple logistic analysis showed that there was an increased incidence of preterm delivery in women with a previous preterm delivery ( 9/24 ; odds ratio 25 ; 95 % confidence interval 9 to 70 ; P<0.001 ) and bacterial vaginosis ( 9/115 ; 2.8 ; 1.1 to 7.4 ; P=0.04 ) . A further logistic analysis of data from women recruited before 16 weeks ' gestation showed that preterm deliveries or late miscarriages occurred more often in women with bacterial vaginosis ( 12/77 ; 5.5 ; 2.3 to 13.3 ; P<0.001 ) . Conclusions : Late miscarriage and preterm delivery are associated with the presence of bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy . This is independent of recognised risk factors such as previous preterm delivery Human chorionic gonadotropin was administered intramuscularly in an open study of 32 women whose last three pregnancies had ended in spontaneous abortion . An initial dosage of 10 000 iu on earliest diagnosis of pregnancy was followed up by 5000 IU twice weekly up to wk 12 , then once weekly up to wk 16 . Only 2 of the 32 patients aborted ( 6.2 % ) . Using the same regime a further 20 habitual aborters were r and omly allocated double-blind to either hCG or placebo . All 10 women on active therapy continued ( 100 % ) compared with only 3 on placebo ( 30 % ) ( P less than 0.01 ) . These results suggest that hCG should be considered as treatment in women with habitual abortion where other specific causes have been ruled out and a potentially treatable hormonal imbalance surmised OBJECTIVES To investigate the efficacy of hCG in the management of recurrent early pregnancy loss .  DESIGN A prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled trial . SETTING Miscarriage Clinic , Women 's Hospital , Liverpool , United Kingdom . SUBJECTS Eighty-one women attending the miscarriage clinic with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss were r and omized to receive hCG supplementation or placebo in early pregnancy . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The success rate or live birth rate . RESULTS In women with regular menstrual cycles it was found that hCG had no beneficial effect , the pregnancy success rate being 86 % in both groups . However , women with oligomenorrhea had a pregnancy success rate of 40 % in the placebo group but a statistically significant improvement to 86 % if hCG was given . CONCLUSIONS Human chorionic gonadotropin can be recommended for idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss in women with oligomenorrhea Abstract Objective : To determine whether treatment with low dose aspirin and heparin leads to a higher rate of live births than that achieved with low dose aspirin alone in women with a history of recurrent miscarriage associated with phospholipid antibodies ( or antiphospholipid antibodies ) , lupus anticoagulant , and cardiolipin antibodies ( or anticardiolipin antibodies ) . Design : R and omised controlled trial . Setting : Specialist clinic for recurrent miscarriages . Subjects : 90 women ( median age 33 ( range 22 - 43 ) ) with a history of recurrent miscarriage ( median number 4 ( range 3 - 15 ) ) and persistently positive results for phospholipid antibodies . Intervention : Either low dose aspirin ( 75 mg daily ) or low dose aspirin and 5000 U of unfractionated heparin subcutaneously 12 hourly . All women started treatment with low dose aspirin when they had a positive urine pregnancy test . Women were r and omly allocated an intervention when fetal heart activity was seen on ultrasonography . Treatment was stopped at the time of miscarriage or at 34 weeks ' gestation . Main outcome measures : Rate of live births with the two treatments . Results : There was no significant difference in the two groups in age or the number and gestation of previous miscarriages . The rate of live births with low dose aspirin and heparin was 71 % ( 32/45 pregnancies ) and 42 % ( 19/45 pregnancies ) with low dose aspirin alone ( odds ratio 3.37 ( 95 % confidence interval 1.40 to 8.10 ) ) . More than 90 % of miscarriages occurred in the first trimester . There was no difference in outcome between the two treatments in pregnancies that advanced beyond 13 weeks ' gestation . Twelve of the 51 successful pregnancies ( 24 % ) were delivered before 37 weeks ' gestation . Women r and omly allocated aspirin and heparin had a median decrease in lumbar spine bone density of 5.4 % ( range -8.6 % to 1.7 % ) . Conclusion : Treatment with aspirin and heparin leads to a significantly higher rate of live births in women with a history of recurrent miscarriage associated with phospholipid antibodies than that achieved with aspirin alone . Key messages The prognosis for pregnancies in women with recurrent miscarriage associated with phospholipid antibodies is poor This r and omised controlled trial found that the prognosis improved with low dose aspirin and was further improved with the addition of low dose heparin to the aspirin This combination may promote successful embryonic implantation in the early stages of pregnancy and protect against thrombosis of the uteroplacental vasculature after successful placentation Most miscarriages occurred before 13 weeks ' gestation Nearly a quarter of the successful pregnancies were delivered prematurely ( before 37 weeks ' gestation ) , so close surveillance is necessary Long term use of low dose heparin was associated with few 
    Output:
    
There was no report of adverse effects of  hCG  on mother or baby .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS The current evidence does not support the routine use of hCG in the treatment of threatened miscarriage