Miscarriage Risk Factors

There are various risk factors that are associated with miscarriage. Although such factors do not directly cause miscarriage, they increase chances of the miscarriage taking place. Some of the factors that are considered miscarriage risk factors include;

·      Age – advancing in age is one of the major risk factors for miscarriage among healthy women. Women above the age of 40 are at a higher risk of miscarriage than younger women. This risk of miscarriage increases with age because chromosomal abnormalities are more common with advancement in age.

·       Number of pregnancies – how many times a woman has been pregnant also increases her risk of miscarriage. Women that have had 2 or more pregnancies are at a greater risk of miscarriage than those that have had one or no pregnancy.

·      Follate insufficiency – reports from the National Institute of Health (NIH) indicate that women with low levels of folic acid – a vitamin B-complex essential for cell growth and reproduction – have higher chances of experiencing miscarriage than pregnant women who have sufficient levels of this vitamin.

·      Caffeine – some studies point to the fact that there is a link between moderate to significant amounts of caffeine (in the range of 4-5 cups of coffee daily) and an increased risk of miscarriage.

·      Alcohol – Women that drink are twice as likely to have a miscarriage as compared to women that abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. In fact, exposure to alcohol can be harmful to the fetus even where a miscarriage does not occur.

·      Smoking – Smoking excessively is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage. Indeed, even paternal smoking is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.

·      Using certain medications and or illegal substances – pregnant women that have taken certain prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs, including non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen have reported miscarriage. Also, illegal substances like heroin and cocaine are associated with miscarriage.

·      Environmental factors – being exposed to environmental toxins, radiations and immunological factors has also been associated with miscarriage.

·      Chronic maternal illnesses like diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure as well as kidney problems may also result in miscarriages.

These miscarriage risk factors all increase chances of miscarriage. If nothing is done about many of these risk factors, then they can result in recurrent miscarriage.