Miscarriage can harm next pregnancy

Women who suffer a miscarriage during their first pregnancy are significantly more likely to have complications in future pregnancies, say Scottish researchers.

The University of Aberdeen study of more than 33,000 women is the first of its kind to assess pregnancy outcomes in women following an initial miscarriage.

The researchers looked at all recorded pregnancies in the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank between 1986 and 2000.

They found that women who miscarried their first baby were over three times more likely to suffer from pre-eclampsia, and one and a half times more likely to have a premature baby than women who enjoyed a successful first pregnancy.

Women who had an initial miscarriage were also twice as likely to have labour induced and six times as likely to require an 'instrumental' vaginal delivery, such as the use of forceps.

'The results of our study leave no room for doubt that women with a first miscarriage have a higher risk of adverse outcomes in the subsequent pregnancy compared with women who have a successful first pregnancy,' the authors said in a forthcoming issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Women who miscarry just once should be monitored as well as those who have recurrent miscarriages,' they added.