Screening
While there is no specific screening for miscarriage in women of reproductive age, women with recurrent miscarriage are investigated to identify possible contributory factors. Despite the epidemiologically proven increased frequency of fetal aneuploidy and early pregnancy loss in women of advanced maternal age, pre-implantation genetic screening is not routinely recommended.[87]
One study reported a multivariate prognostic model for threatened miscarriage, which suggests that a combination of maternal characteristics and ultrasound findings can be used to predict miscarriage in early pregnancy. The risk of miscarriage was found to be higher in women of African ethnicity, cigarette smokers, and with the presence of vaginal bleeding. This risk increased with increasing maternal age and yolk sac diameter. The risk was found to be inversely related to embryonic crown-rump length, fetal heart rate, and gestational sac diameter. The detection rate of miscarriage in screening by vaginal bleeding was found to be 45%. This increased to 53% with the addition of maternal history factors, and to 85.7% with the addition of ultrasound findings.[88]
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