Alarm over miscarriage link to tests at small hospital units

Published on Tuesday 7 July 2009 22:04

PREGNANT women undergoing tests for foetal abnormalities could be up to twice as likely to miscarry if they attend a small hospital unit, research suggests.

Some 30,000 women a year in the UK undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) to detect possible problems with a pregnancy.

Amniocentesis indicate the likelihood of the baby developing chromosomal conditions, such as Down syndrome or Edward's syndrome.

The test carries a risk of miscarriage and is usually only offered to women when there is a significant risk the baby will develop such a condition.

The new study of more than 64,000 pregnant women found that miscarriage rates were higher at smaller hospital units.

Overall, the miscarriage rate following amniocentesis was 1.4 per cent, and 1.9 per cent following CVS. But women treated in departments carrying out fewer than 500 amniocentesis tests over an 11-year period had a higher chance of miscarriage, 2.2 times higher than bigger units.