Test developed to identify women at increased risk of miscarriage | Study discovered abnormal process in womb lining, with potential for new treatments to prevent pregnancy loss

From the article: Scientists have developed a test to identify women with an increased risk of miscarriage, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent pregnancy loss.

About one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before 12 weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening.

Until now, most research in this area has focused on the quality of the embryo, with the secrets of the womb lining remaining a missing “black box” in reproductive medicine.

Now the [largest study](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv1988) of its kind has discovered how an abnormal process in the womb lining could explain why some women experience miscarriage. The findings could open the door to new ways to help women avoid pregnancy loss.

Scientists at the University of Warwick and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust have discovered that in some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining does not react the way it should and become a supportive place for an embryo to implant.

This represents “a key piece of the miscarriage puzzle”, they said, tracing miscarriage risk back to a problem with the womb lining before pregnancy which may also help explain why some women experience repeated pregnancy loss, even with healthy embryos.

Using the findings from the study, the team developed a diagnostic test that can measure signs of a healthy or defective reaction in the womb lining.

The lead author of the study, Dr Joanne Muter, a researcher at Warwick medical school whose work was funded by the baby loss charity Tommy’s, said: “This is about identifying preventable miscarriages. Many women are told they’ve just had ‘bad luck’, but our findings show that the womb itself may be setting the stage for pregnancy loss, even before conception takes place.”