Miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy. Approximately 50% of all conceptions and 15% of all recognized pregnancies result in miscarriage. Recurrent miscarriage, which is defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies, affects 1% of couples who are trying to achieve a successful pregnancy. Most clinicians agree that there is sufficient justification to initiate diagnostic evaluation of couples after three miscarriages.
Relation of Maternal Age with Pregnancy Loss
The risk of miscarriage increases with advancing maternal age, regardless of reproductive history, as a result of an age-related increase in chromosomally abnormal conceptions or a decline in uterine and ovarian function. The study shows the following incidence of abortions in different age groups.
• 13.3% at 12 to 19 years
• 11.1% at 20 to 24 years
• 11.9% at 25 to 29 years
• 15% at 30 to 34 years
• 24.6% at 35 to 39 years
• 51% at 40 to 44 years
• 93.4% at 45 years or older
From this table it is evident that Increasing age significantly increases the incidence of abortion. This is also true for the age of father.
How previous pregnancy loss affects further pregnacies
Reproductive history is an independent predictor of future pregnancy outcome. The risk of a further miscarriage increases after each successive pregnancy loss, reaching approximately 40% after three consecutive pregnancy losses. For example, primigravidae and women with a history of live births have a 5% chance of miscarriage in their next pregnancy, a significantly lower risk than that in women whose last pregnancy ended in miscarriage (20%).
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