How Many Pregnancies End in Miscarriage?

For some women, miscarriage happens even before they know that they are actually pregnant.

What Is Miscarriage (Pregnancy Loss)?

According to the March of Dimes, miscarriage refers to pregnancy loss that takes place before a woman reaches the 20-week mark of pregnancy. There are different kinds of miscarriages, including threatened, asymptomatic, incomplete, complete, and repeat miscarriages.

Threatened Miscarriage

Threatened miscarriage happens when a pregnant person experiences bleeding, with minimal or no pain at all. The pregnant person may also have an undilated cervix, and the baby inside could have a heartbeat. In most cases, threatened miscarriages end up being fine.

Asymptomatic Miscarriage

This kind of miscarriage takes place when the pregnancy loss happens, but the pregnant person does not experience cramps or bleeding. In such cases, no tissues get out of the body. This is also referred to as an empty sac pregnancy. As such, it may be necessary for the pregnant person to undergo procedures in order to empty the uterus; otherwise, it may dilate independently and tissue could pass like a menstrual period.

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Incomplete Miscarriage

According to the Mayo Clinic, an incomplete miscarriage takes place if a pregnant individual goes past the placental or fetal material, but the remains stay within the uterus. This means that the miscarriage starts, but the pregnancy does not completely leave the womb.

Complete Miscarriage

A miscarriage is considered complete when the pregnant person loses the pregnancy, and the uterus is left empty. Bleeding is experienced, and fetal tissue gets passed, the Cleveland Clinic explains. This may take place sporadically or after one has medical treatment.

Repeat Miscarriage

A repeat miscarriage, which is also referred to as recurrent pregnancy loss, refers to the loss of two consecutive pregnancies.

Miscarriage Causes

According to the Cleveland Clinic, 50% of miscarriages that take place in the first trimester are due to abnormalities in the chromosomes, which are small structures within cells that carry the genes of individuals.

Aside from this, there are also other factors that may lead to miscarriage, including TORCH disease exposure, infection, hormonal imbalances, age, improper fertilized egg implantation within the uterine lining, uterine oddities, lifestyle, cervix incompetence, immune system disorders, serious kidney conditions, unmanaged diabetes, congenital heart disease, radiation, thyroid disease, certain medications, and serious malnutrition.

Miscarriage Statistics

Among women who are aware of their pregnancy, around 10 to 20 out of 100 pregnancies (equivalent to 10% to 20%) end in pregnancy loss. Most cases of miscarriage (80%) take place in the first trimesters of pregnancy, before the 12th week hits, while it tends to happen in 1-5 out of 100 pregnancies (1%-5%) that go beyond the second trimester. A miscarriage that takes place after the 20th week of pregnancy is referred to as a stillbirth.

There are studies that also suggest that over 30% of pregnancies end in loss. Several cases happen even before the awareness of the pregnancy.

The March of Dimes also adds that around one in 100 pregnant individuals experiences repeat miscarriages. The risk of experiencing a second miscarriage is 20%. After experiencing two consecutive miscarriages, one's risk of another miscarriage goes up to 28%. After three or more consecutive miscarriages, this risk reaches 43%.