One pregnancy loss may result in future complications, study finds
One pregnancy loss could increase a woman’s risk of future pregnancy complications by 30 per cent, according to a new study.
Researchers studied 15,000 deliveries over a period of five years and compared data on women who had had a single interruption in their first trimester of pregnancy and women in their first pregnancy who did not have a history of pregnancy loss.
They focused on women who had had both a miscarriage and an abortion.
Women who had a history of multiple abortions or miscarriages, had not received or had access to proper prenatal care, were pregnant with multiples, had a stillbirth or major fetal abnormalities were excluded from the study.
The lead researcher Dr. Liran Hiersch commented on the study, and said that a single pregnancy loss was a ‘very common event’ in a woman’s life, but went on to reassure that in most cases effects on future fertility were ‘mild’ and that the results should be taken into account with other factors:
“Our findings should be taken into account together with other parameters when assessing the risk for adverse outcome.”
“In most cases it has no effect on future fertility or pregnancy outcome,” “In addition, although we found that a single early pregnancy loss was associated with an increased risk for subsequent adverse pregnancy outcome, the effect was mild.”
The study aims to be incorporated into risk assessments for pregnancy complications in the future.