British scientists say they have developed a test which can help identify women with an abnormal womb lining¹⁾ that increases their risk of miscarriage²⁾. They say their work could pave the way for new treatments for those going through repeated pregnancy loss.

In some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining doesn’t react the way it should — transforming into a supportive place for the embryo to implant, the University of Warwick team discovered. Around one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before twelve weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening.

To date, most research in this area has focused on the quality of the embryo, with much less known about the role of the womb lining. Dr Jo Muter, study author and researcher at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, said: “Many women are told they’ve just had ‘bad luck’, but our findings show that the womb³⁾ itself may be setting the stage for pregnancy loss, even before conception takes place.”

The job of the womb lining is to receive the embryo and help it develop during pregnancy, thanks to a reaction which converts cells into a different, supportive state. But when that reaction is messed up and doesn’t fully happen, the risk of bleeding and early pregnancy loss rises. Once a woman has had one defective reaction, she is more likely to have another, the researchers say.

They’ve developed a new test which can measure signs of a healthy or defective reaction in the womb lining, which is being piloted to help more than 1,000 patients in the UK at the University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW).

(Philippa Roxby. www.bbc.com, 26.06.2025. Adaptado.)

¹ womb lining: endométrio, tecido que reveste a parte interna do útero.

² miscarriage: aborto espontâneo/perda gestacional.

³ womb: útero.