ABSTRACT
Determination of pregnancy status is the main priority in the evaluation of vaginal bleeding in women of child-bearing years. This is because of the potential of life-threatening hemorrhage from pregnancy-related complications such as abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and placental abruption. When the patient is not pregnant, the physician must entertain other causes of vaginal bleeding such as the ones discussed in the preceding paragraph. However, hormonal causes of bleeding (i.e. ovulatory, anovulatory) represent a large percentage of these patients.
