Fertility doctors have now developed a way to make predictions as to whether pregnancies will be threatened by miscarriages. Nearly 20% of pregnancies are complicated and have the possibility of a miscarriage. Dr. Kaltum Adam of St. Mary’s Hospital in Manchester conducted a study of 112 women with threatened miscarriages.

Dr. Adam and his team followed the progression of women between 2009 and 2010. The women had ultrasound scans and were asked to keep a chart of pain and bleeding as well as weekly tests to check for progesterone and pregnancy hormones.

From the data they collected from the pregnant women, they combined two factors: amount of bleeding and the levels of hCG, which they used to create a ‘Pregnancy Viability Index’ that, could provide a reliable prediction of women who will suffer from a miscarriage.

Dr. Adam states: “By the end of the study period, the PVI is able to accurately predict the pregnancy outcome in 94% of women who had ongoing pregnancies and also predicted the outcome in 77% of women whose pregnancy ended in miscarriage”.

The PVI will hopefully help women to give them a better understanding in case something goes wrong or how they might be saved from a miscarriage.