Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan;32(1):19-29.
doi: 10.1111/ppe.12417. Epub 2017 Oct 20.

Trends in Risk of Pregnancy Loss Among US Women, 1990-2011

Lauren M Rossen  1 , Katherine A Ahrens  2 , Amy M Branum  3
Affiliations

Trends in Risk of Pregnancy Loss Among US Women, 1990-2011

Lauren M Rossen et al. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy loss can have physical and psychological consequences for women and their families. Though a previous study described an increase in the risk of self-reported pregnancy loss from 1970 to 2000, more recent examinations from population-based data of US women are lacking.

Methods: We used data from the 1995, 2002, 2006-2010, 2011-2015 National Survey of Family Growth on self-reported pregnancy loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy) among US women (15-44 years) who reported at least one pregnancy conceived during 1990-2011 that did not result in induced termination (n = 20 012 women; n = 42 526 pregnancies). Trends in the risk of self-reported pregnancy loss and early pregnancy loss (<12 weeks) were estimated, separately, by year of pregnancy conception (limited to 1990-2011 to ensure a sufficient sample of pregnancies for each year and maternal age group) using log-Binomial and Poisson models, adjusted for maternal- and pregnancy-related factors.

Results: Among all self-reported pregnancies, excluding induced terminations, the risk of pregnancy loss was 19.7% and early pregnancy loss was 13.5% during 1990-2011. Risk of pregnancy loss increased by a relative 2% (rate ratio [RR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01, 1.02) per year in unadjusted models and 1% per year (RR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00, 1.02) during 1990-2011, after adjustment for maternal characteristics and pregnancy-related factors. In general, trends were similar for early pregnancy loss.

Conclusion: From 1990 to 2011, risk of self-reported pregnancy loss increased among US women. Further work is needed to better understand the drivers of this increase in reported pregnancy loss in the US.

Keywords: fetal loss; miscarriage; spontaneous abortion; stillbirth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Unweighted number of reported pregnancies by maternal age group and calendar year of conception, NSFG 1995, 2002, 2006–2010, 2011–2015. At least 100 pregnancies were reported for each age group during 1990–2011. Minimum, maximum, and survey-weighted mean age at conception are presented on the secondary axis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of pregnancy loss in the United States (a) and by maternal age (b) for conception years 1990–2011: NSFG 1995, 2002, 2006–2010, 2011–2015 (observed and predicted from unadjusted log-Binomial models). See Table 2 for per year risk ratio estimates and confidence intervals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of early pregnancy loss in the United States (a) and by maternal age (b) for conception years 1990–2011: NSFG 1995, 2002, 2006–2010, 2011–2015 (observed and predicted from unadjusted log-Binomial models). See Table 2 for per year risk ratio estimates and confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bardos J, Hercz D, Friedenthal J, Missmer SA, Williams Z. A national survey on public perceptions of miscarriage. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2015;125:1313–1320. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brier N. Anxiety after miscarriage: a review of the empirical literature and implications for clinical practice. Birth. 2004;31:138–142. - PubMed
    1. Cumming GP, Klein S, Bolsover D, Lee AJ, Alexander DA, Maclean M, et al. The emotional burden of miscarriage for women and their partners: trajectories of anxiety and depression over 13 months. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2007;114:1138–1145. - PubMed
    1. Radford EJ, Hughes M. Women’s experiences of early miscarriage: implications for nursing care. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2015;24:1457–1465. - PubMed
    1. Carter D, Misri S, Tomfohr L. Psychologic aspects of early pregnancy loss. Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2007;50:154–165. - PubMed