New test can identify women at high risk of miscarriage

Scientists have developed a test to identify women with an increased risk of miscarriage, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent pregnancy loss.

- Andrew Gregory

About one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before 12 weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening.

Most previous research in this area has focused on the quality of the embryo, with the secrets of the womb lining remaining a missing "black box" in reproductive medicine.

Now the largest study of its kind has discovered how an abnormal process in the womb lining could explain why some women experience miscarriage. The findings could open the door to new ways to help women avoid pregnancy loss.

Scientists at the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust have discovered that in some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining does not react the way it should - becoming a supportive place for the embryo to implant.

This represents "a key piece of the miscarriage puzzle", they said, tracing miscarriage risk to a problem with the womb lining before pregnancy. It may help explain why some women experience repeated pregnancy loss, even with healthy embryos.