Miscarriage
How common is miscarriage?
Miscarriage (also known as spontaneous abortion) is the sad outcome of a surprisingly high proportion of pregnancies. It is thought that as many as one in 3 pregnancies will end in this way. Often the mother will not have realised she was pregnant and will put her miscarriage down as a heavier than usual period.
After a miscarriage
Losing a baby, even at such an early stage, is a very distressing experience for many families. This is especially so if it is the first pregnancy. If a woman already has children at least she knows she is able to ‘do it’.
Those who have lost a pregnancy through miscarriage can take some comfort that the vast majority of women who have this experience go on to produce healthy babies in the future.
What causes a miscarriage?
In most cases there is no known reason for the pregnancy to miscarry, even in those women unfortunate to suffer recurrent miscarriages. Therefore it is difficult to give advice about how to reduce the chances of this happening.
Recent studies have shown that miscarriages seem more common in women who drink a lot of coffee. So if you are pregnant, or thinking of it, reducing the amount of coffee you drink is a good idea.
Last Reviewed: 02 May 2002
