Before we begin, we’d like to point out that this information can be very upsetting and even triggering for some. While many find it helpful to read up on these things, this isn’t true of everyone. So don’t feel that you must continue reading if you are struggling. We have also adopted a more clinical tone because we believe that it’s useful to become familiar with the terminology that’s likely to be used in the hospital.

And with that said, let’s move on to the subject at hand – what is a recurrent miscarriage?

What does the evidence say about recurrent miscarriage?

The clinical and most useful definition of recurrent miscarriage is the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies before the baby has reached the stage of viability. While some doctors refer to the loss of two pregnancies as recurrent miscarriage, the loss of two in a row is more common than three, so most will avoid this terminology before a third loss has taken place.

While the evidence is unfortunately lacking, a rough estimate suggests that around 1 in 100 women will experience recurrent miscarriage; some simply due to bad luck and others because of a specific problem. In a scenario of repeated miscarriage, it will be the aim of a clinic to determine which category a woman falls into.

To draw a conclusion, doctors will look at several things, including the age of gestation (age of the pregnancy), the miscarried pregnancy’s genetic makeup, the length of time it took for a pregnancy to take, and more. Once they’ve determined which category a couple falls into, they’ll be able to recommend the next steps, which may be as simple as telling you that you can try again as soon as you feel ready.

The next steps will vary from couple to couple because there is no one cause for recurrent miscarriage. In most cases, some form of treatment will be available, which your doctor will take you through. But we would point out – not without a heavy heart – that it’s possible to undergo treatment for a specific problem, only for another problem to occur. If another problem is detected, then further steps can also be taken next time. But even then, those compilations that may cause a sporadic miscarriage are still a possibility. For this reason, doctors may ask that you attempt to retrieve the tissues from a miscarriage so they can be analysed to determine whether the cause was a sporadic one or an underlying problem

While the information and research on recurrent miscarriage are still lacking somewhat, new tests are undertaken every day in an attempt to better understand this very difficult and sad experience. And hopefully, as more tests are done and more information is gleaned, more preventative steps and treatments will be discovered.

What is recurrent miscarriage?