Abortion raises early birth risk

A history of miscarriage and abortions increases a woman's chances of giving birth too early, research has shown.

The same study revealed that premature delivery was also more likely after any complication early in the pregnancy, or in previous pregnancies.

Researchers believe the findings will help doctors identify women who might need greater care and monitoring in the months leading up to child birth.

Scientists from the UK, Denmark and Spain analysed the results of 75 investigations into early pregnancy complications conducted between 1980 and 2008.

They found that a history of one or more miscarriages nearly doubled the risk of pre-term rupture of the membrane that surrounds the baby in the womb, thereby increasing the chances of a premature delivery.

Three or more recurrent miscarriages led to a six-fold increased risk of placenta praevia - a condition caused by the placenta blocking the cervix - and almost doubled the likelihood of congenital malformations in the baby.

If a pregnancy was terminated for any reason, this heightened the risk of premature and very premature delivery in subsequent pregnancies.

The findings were presented at the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam.

The study found that problems encountered in the first three months (trimester) of pregnancy increased the risk of complications later in the same pregnancy.

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