Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access

What is the Average Week-by-Week Miscarriage Rate?: An Overview

Rakesh Agarwal^{* *}Correspondence: Rakesh Agarwal, Department of Maternal & Reproductive Health, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India, Email:

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Introduction

The number of miscarriages per week varies from person to person. As the pregnancy progresses, however, the likelihood of a miscarriage or pregnancy loss decreases.

The pregnancy loss risk estimates are only averages, so your chances may be higher or lower depending on a variety of circumstances. Pregnancy loss can happen before a woman even realises she is pregnant. The chances of losing a pregnancy are greatly reduced once an ultrasound confirms a good heartbeat. If a person is aware of the pregnancy, there is a 10–15% chance of miscarriage [1].

A pregnancy loss happens when a foetus dies before the 20th week of pregnancy. A stillbirth is a pregnancy loss that occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Rates of Miscarriage by Week: The majority of pregnancy losses are caused by circumstances beyond a person's control. Genetic problems are a common cause of miscarriage early in pregnancy [2].

The first trimester, which lasts between 0 to 13 weeks, accounts for about 80% of all pregnancy losses? Although the loss is often heartbreaking, the infant would not have survived outside the womb due to genetic abnormalities. Even if a woman experiences this type of pregnancy loss, she can usually have a healthy pregnancy in the future. Because foetuses are most sensitive early in their development, other factors, such as alcohol consumption, can cause the most harm. This is why the majority of miscarriages happen early in the pregnancy [3].

3–4 weeks: Implantation normally takes place three weeks following a woman's last period and a week after ovulation. They might be able to acquire a positive result on a home pregnancy test by week four.

As many as 50–75 percent of pregnancies end before a positive pregnancy test is obtained. The majority of people will never realise they are pregnant, while others may assume it due to pregnancy loss symptoms

5th week: At this moment, the rate of miscarriage varies greatly. According to a study, the chances of losing a pregnancy beyond week 5 are 21.3 percent.

6–7 weeks: According to the same study, after week 6, the rate of weight reduction lowers to 5%. An ultrasound can usually detect a heartbeat around week 6 in the majority of cases.

8–13 weeks: The rate of miscarriage appears to be 2–4% in the second half of the first trimester.

14–20 weeks: A miscarriage is rare between weeks 14 and 20, with less than 1% of pregnancies ending in miscarriage

A stillbirth is a pregnancy loss that occurs after week 20, and it might cause a person to go into labour. Stillbirth is uncommon, and it is becoming more so as modern technology allows extremely tiny new-borns to survive outside the womb. According to a research group headquartered in the United Kingdom, a baby born at 22 weeks has a slim chance of survival. Each week, the likelihood grows.

Rates of Miscarriage by Age: Pregnancy loss is linked to advancing age. This is due to the fact that egg quality tends to deteriorate over time [4].

The following is the average likelihood of miscarriage based on the age of the pregnant woman:

•Under the age of 35, there is a 15% probability of miscarriage.

•Between the ages of 35 and 45, there is a 20–35 percent incidence of miscarriage.

•Over the age of 45, there is a 50 percent incidence of miscarriage.

•It's important to remember that these are average values that don't account for any other considerations.

•With age, the impacts of lifestyle difficulties such as smoking or leading a sedentary lifestyle might compound. This could exacerbate underlying health problems and raise the risk of miscarriage.

Other Risk Factors: The majority of women who have lost a pregnancy go on to have healthy pregnancies in the future. A single miscarriage does not indicate that a woman will have trouble getting pregnant or remaining pregnant in the future.

Following one or more miscarriages, some people request genetic testing. Genetic testing can assist a doctor in determining the reason of a miscarriage [5].

The following are some of the risk factors for miscarriage:

•having an uncontrolled chronic condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure

•having a hormonal disorder that makes it difficult for the body to produce hormones to sustain the pregnancy

•Using certain drugs, especially stimulant drugs such as cocaine or high amounts of caffeine

References

1. Edwards RG: Conception in the Human Female. London, Academic Press. 1980.
2. Arck PC, Rücke M, Rose M, Szekeres-Bartho J, Douglas AJ, Pritsch M, et al. Early risk factors for miscarriage: a prospective cohort study in pregnant women. Reprod Biomed Online. 2008;17(1):101-13.
3. Ku, CW. How can we better predict the risk of spontaneous miscarriage among women experiencing threatened miscarriage? Gynecol. Endocrinol. 2015;31: 647–651.
4. Lek, SM. Validation of serum progesterone <35 nmol/L as a predictor of miscarriage among women with threatened miscarriage. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2017;17: 78.
5. Schock H. Hormone concentrations throughout uncomplicated pregnancies: A longitudinal study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2016;16: 146