Why do miscarriages happen? A blood test may help prevent a recurrence by revealing a chromosome anomaly – and end taboo
- Miscarriages are very common: at least one in 10 women experience pregnancy loss, but a Danish study has shown that number could be reduced
- A blood test soon after the loss could show genetic anomalies and pave the way to preventive treatments
A blood test taken after a miscarriage that occurs as early as week five of pregnancy can help explain why it occurred, and in some cases lead to preventive treatments, Danish researchers say.
One in 10 women experience pregnancy loss, with the number even higher in countries where pregnancies increasingly occur later in a woman’s life.
Danish gynaecologist Henriette Svarre Nielsen and her team of researchers recently published a study in the British journal The Lancet showing that a blood sample taken from the mother soon after a miscarriage as early as the fifth week of pregnancy can determine whether the fetus had a chromosome anomaly.
In Denmark, such tests are usually only offered after a woman has had three miscarriages, and only if they occurred after the 10th week of pregnancy.
“This is 2023. We are way beyond just counting as the criteria” to investigate why somebody may be prone to pregnancy loss, Svarre Nielsen of Hvidovre hospital near Copenhagen said.