Ongoing pregnancy

An ongoing pregnancy is one that continues beyond the stage where most early pregnancy losses occur, often defined in fertility research and clinic reporting as a pregnancy with confirmed cardiac activity persisting to around ten to twelve weeks of gestation. It is a useful marker between clinical pregnancy (confirmed on an early scan) and live birth rate (the eventual outcome). Clinics may use ongoing pregnancy rate as one way of describing treatment success, since it reflects a stage where the chance of a further early loss is much lower, though it does not remove all risk to later pregnancy.

Also known as: ongoing pregnancy rate, twelve week scan pregnancy

Last reviewed: 9 September 2026. Written by the Antega Editorial Team. General information only — always follow the advice of your own clinic, doctor or pharmacist.