One in every four miscarriages "Could be prevented with changes in a woman's lifestyle". Scientists at the University of Copenhagen analyzed 91.427 pregnancies between 1996 and 2002. Of all those pregnancies studied, 3.177 ended in miscarriage before week 22. At week 16, women were asked about their lifestyle before conception and during pregnancy. Those who had already had a miscarriage were asked about their habits before it happened.
The study revealed that age, alcohol use, heavy lifting, night shifts, and being obese or overweight were causes associated with miscarriage.
Age and alcohol consumption were the most important factors.
The researchers claimed that if women were able to reduce these risk factors to very low levels, 25 percent of miscarriages could be prevented.
However, other scientists cautioned that the study does not show that these factors cause miscarriages.
Patrick Wolfe, professor of statistics at University College London, said:
“This study does not establish a causal relationship between reported risk factors and miscarriage. The study has several statistical limitations, and its conclusions may be subject to over-interpretation.