How long to wait for a miscarriage?

Pregnancy: Do not wait too long after a miscarriage? Even a longer wait, on average, may increase the risk of another miscarriage, according to a new study.

(07.08.2010) Many gynecologists advise women after a miscarriage (abortion) first to wait a long time until the next pregnancy. However, the opinions of the doctors about the waiting times are divided. The reasons for a miscarriage are also different. Scottish scientists now studied the different waiting times until the next pregnancy and achieved astounding findings. Thus, a longer waiting period until the next pregnancy could even have an adverse effect on the further course.

Miscarriages are subdivided into early abortions (up to the 12th week of pregnancy) and late abortions, with early abortions occurring much more frequently. After a miscarriage most "wish parents" do not want to give up and try again. But many couples are unsure in the question of whether initially a long time should pass, until a renewed attempt is started. In most cases, gynecologist information is also poor, and most people suggest that it takes a long time before the next pregnancy. Scientists at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland explored the question of the timing of new abortions and the success of pregnancies.

In the study, the researchers focused on the question of how long waiting times affect. During the course of the study, the pregnancy course of about 30,000 women was examined. All the women had gone to a Scottish hospital because they had a miscarriage. The evaluation of the data took place between the years 1980 to 2000.

First, the authors of the study found that women who have had a miscarriage have an increased risk of having another abortion. However, the evaluation also showed that the maximum period of half a year to a new pregnancy has a favorable effect on the further course of pregnancy. For the women on average had a miscarriage less often than women who waited more than half a year. Overall, the risk decreased for a second exit, abortion or an abdominal cavity pregnancy. Also, the risk decreased by a total of 34 percent for caesarean sections, premature birth or a low birth weight. The need for premature abortion (minus 57 percent) and the risk of ectopic pregnancy (minus 52 percent) were reduced. Both risks increased at an interval of more than 24 months waiting time.

In the western industrialized nations, women always have a child later on. This has an overall unfavorable effect on a pregnancy course. Study author Sohinee Bhattacharya explained that it is generally problematic to postpone pregnancy into old age. Many women in the western world do not have their first child until the age of 35. This fact alone increases the risk of abortion. Because with increasing age, the likelihood of complications during pregnancy increases. On this fact alone, any further delay means a higher risk of suffering another abortion.

The World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends a minimum waiting time of six months. Due to the social change and the study results, this recommendation should be rethought. Bhattacharya explained that a revised recommendation should apply only to the Western world, as the study looked at the pregnancy history of Scottish women. In Third World countries, a similar study could potentially lead to different results. The study appeared in „British Medical Journal“ (BMJ 2010; 341: c3967). (Sb)

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