A woman’s risk of consecutive miscarriage increases by 70 percent if she is obese rather than at a healthy weight, a study warned. The Southampton researchers conducted a review of several existing studies on recurrent pregnancy loss, to explore what lifestyle factors might be involved.
People who are overweight or underweight, that is, have a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 30 or less than 18.5, respectively, are also at higher risk. Miscarriage is the most common complication of early pregnancy and, sadly, affects between 15% and 20% of pregnant women.
Meanwhile, recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as when a woman has two or more consecutive early miscarriages. It is a complex disease and, although it is often attributed to numerous medical factors and lifestyle influences, it remains unexplained in about half of all cases.
The review was conducted by researcher Bonnie Ng from the University of Southampton and her colleagues. “ Our study included sixteen studies and showed that being underweight or overweight significantly increases the risk of two consecutive pregnancy losses . For those with a BMI greater than 25 [overweight] and 30 [obese], their risk of having a new miscarriage increases by 20 percent and 70 percent, respectively, “he added.
Being underweight also increases the risk of miscarriage
In addition to the risk for overweight or obese women, the researchers also warned that there is a higher incidence of successive miscarriages among underweight people , with a body mass index of less than 18.5.
Along with BMI, the team also set out to assess the impact of other factors, including smoking habits and levels of alcohol and caffeine consumption. However, this effort was complicated by inconsistencies in the results of a small number of studies, as well as by the limited diversity of women enrolled to participate in them.
” Our study found no association between recurrent pregnancy loss and lifestyle parameters such as smoking, alcohol and caffeine intake, ” said article author George Cherian of Princess Anne Hospital. ” More large-scale studies are needed to clarify this .”
The team cautioned that more observational and clinical research will be needed to establish the full impact of different lifestyle choices on pregnancy outcomes, but concluded that weight is a risk factor that deserves attention.
” Our findings suggest that having an abnormal BMI exacerbates a woman’s risk for repeated miscarriages ,” said article author and reproductive medicine expert Ying Cheong of the University of Southampton. ” Doctors really need to focus on helping women manage this risk factor .”
