Health Tip: Learn Risk Factors for Miscarriage

A woman’s risk of pregnancy loss depends chiefly on four maternal factors: health conditions, age, lifestyle and specifics of pregnancy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says.

The agency’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says factors the raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage include:

Existing conditions, such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, kidney disease, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, infertility, obesity or HIV/AIDS.
If the woman is either a teenager or is age 35 or older.
Lifestyle factors, such as alcohol use or cigarette smoking.
A pregnancy that involves twins, triplets or other multiple births.

Source: HealthDay