Miscarriage Reality Check
Even after a loss, the odds that your pregnancy will go to term are good.
Your miscarriage risk is probably lower than you think; in fact, if you have no symptoms, such as bleeding, it’s less than 2 percent. The overall risk once you know you’re pregnant is 12 percent to 15 percent, but most women who go on to have a miscarriage have had symptoms. The best news of all: An average of 19 out of 20 first-time moms go on to have healthy, full-term pregnancies after a miscarriage. A recent British study also found that a woman’s miscarriage risk is related to her past pregnancy history as follows:
| History | Miscarriage Risk |
|---|---|
| First pregnancy | 5% |
| Last pregnancy terminated | 6% |
| Last pregnancy a live birth | 5% |
| All pregnancies live births | 4% |
| One previous miscarriage | 20% |
| Two previous miscarriages | 28% |
| Three previous miscarriages | 43% |
December/January 2009
