Relevance of the miscarriage-new pregnancy interval

J Perinat Med. 1994;22(3):235-41. doi: 10.1515/jpme.1994.22.3.235.

Abstract

There is a wide divergence of opinion concerning the interval a woman should wait after a miscarriage before attempting a new pregnancy ("pregnancy interval"). Many authors recommend waiting 3-4 months in order to reduce the risk of another miscarriage [3, 6, 17, 21]. This retrospective study investigated whether a longer pregnancy interval lowers the risk of repeat miscarriage (R-risk) and/or prematurity. The association between parity and R-risk was also analyzed. Results showed that there are no proven reasons to recommend a waiting period between a miscarriage and a subsequent pregnancy, because the R-risk was around 20% irrespective of interval duration. Prematurity too is not influenced by a waiting period after miscarriage. There was, however, an association between parity and R-risk and risk of prematurity: nulliparae were more likely to have a repeat miscarriage (p < 0.05) or a preterm delivery in the next pregnancy (p < 0.05) than women who had already given birth to a child.

MeSH terms

  • Abortion, Spontaneous*
  • Adult
  • Birth Intervals*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant, Premature
  • Pregnancy*
  • Recurrence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors