A study by the renown British medical publication The Lancet has found that black women are over 40 per cent more likely to have a miscarriage than other ethnicities.

The information for the study was compiled from 4.6 million pregnancies in seven countries. Some of the factors it found that led to miscarriages are:

1. Being under 20 or over 40

2. Being very underweight or overweight

3. Being black

“We know there’s an increased risk of dying in pregnancy for black women, but I was very shocked to find an increased risk of miscarriage,” said Professor Siobhan Quenby, of the UK’s University of Warwick, who worked on the study.

The study went on to find that women from all ethnic backgrounds who suffer a miscarriage are likely to experience problems such as blood clots, depression and heart disease with blacks 43 per cent more likely to have a miscarriage.

According to the Lancet, “miscarriage is common affecting one in 10 women in their lifetime with an estimated 23 miscarriages globally. Despite this, the impact and consequences of miscarriage and system of care which is fragmented can be of poor quality.

“Our literature review showed that the key demographic risk factors for miscarriage are female age, female body-mass index, female ethnicity and male age. There is a strong association between female age and miscarriage risk with a powerful biological gradient found consistently in several studies.”

One in several pregnancies across the world result in miscarriage.

“A new system is needed to ensure miscarriages are better recognised and women are given the physical and mental healthcare they need.

“The era of telling women to ‘just try again is over,’ said the Lancet.