First miscarriage may affect future pregnancies

Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women’s Health analysed the pregnancy records of 32,000 women in Scotland. In total, 1,561 pregnant women who had a miscarriage in their first pregnancy were compared with 10,549 pregnant women who had a live birth in their first pregnancy and 21,118 primigravid women.

Compared with women with a successful first pregnancy, those with a previous miscarriage were 3.3 times more likely to have pre-eclampisa, 1.7 times more likely to have a threatened miscarriage and 2.2 times more likely to have a labour induced. The authors said the results leave “no room for doubt” that women with a first miscarriage have a higher risk of adverse outcomes in their subsequent pregnancy, compared with women who had a previous successful delivery.