iscarriages are also known as spontaneous abortions in the medical literature. These losses are fairly common. It has been estimated that around 50% of pregnancies result in miscarriage. Many women do not realize that they are pregnant and assume that they are having a delayed period. Of women who know they are pregnant, approximately 20% will have a miscarriage.
Women who have more than one miscarriage consecutively are known as having recurrent abortions. If you have one prior liveborn infant, the risk of recurrent abortion is 20% to 25 % after one miscarriage, 25% after two miscarriages, and 30% after 3 miscarriages. If you have not had a liveborn infant, your risk of miscarriage after 3 prior pregnancy losses is approximately 40%. Infertility, or the inability to become pregnant, is usually not an issue after miscarriage.
It is currently debatable at what point testing for reproductive problems should be performed after miscarriage. If you are in your 30s and have a history of infertility, your physician may recommend evaluation after 2 miscarriages. All women should be evaluated after 3 consecutive miscarriages.