Lifestyle changes could reduce miscarriage risk

By Efrosini Costa

Lifestyle changes could reduce miscarriage risk
A new study in Denmark has shown more than a quarter of first-time miscarriages could be avoided through lifestyle changes.

Being overweight or underweight could increase your risk of miscarriage the first time you fall pregnant. So could lifting more than 20 kg each day, new research from Denmark has revealed.

Women beyond their early 30’s who drink and work night shifts are also more likely to miscarry according to a study of close to 100,000 women.

But it’s not enough to eliminate just one of these risk factors, researchers from the University of Copenhagen said all of these risk factors must be reduced to prevent miscarriage.

“The main message from the paper is that miscarriages are a subject for prevention,” Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen, as senior researcher told reporters.

The study, published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, showed how varied and closely related the different lifestyle factors were for causing miscarriage.

The researchers warned: “Everybody, young men and women, as well as those who have political responsibilities should bear in mind that postponing pregnancy to the mid-30s implies a seriously increased risk of miscarriage.”

Close to 4 per cent of all pregnancies in Denmark from 1996 to 2022, ended in a miscarriage.

The researchers looked for links between the miscarriages and lifestyle factors by using computer-assisted telephone interviews.

Professionals in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology welcomed the study’s findings, saying it confirmed much of the advice already given to  the public to help promote healthy pregnancy.

Eating a balanced diet, cutting out smoking and maintaining a healthy weight can also help women wanting to conceive.

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