Sadly, early pregnancy loss is a very common occurrence. The majority of the time, miscarriage is caused by random genetic errors that do not allow fetal development but are not so great to prevent a placenta from developing. Given the placenta is the source of all the hormones the woman feels pregnant and has positive tests for pregnancy, but without fetal development, the placenta eventually fails and menstrual bleeding follows.

Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as two or more failed clinical pregnancies. This disorder does have a protocol for evaluation including assessment of ovarian reserve, uterine anatomy, parental chromosomal analysis, antiphospholipid syndrome, and screens for thyroid and prolactin disorders. The evaluation can usually be completed within one menstrual month and specific treatments are available.

The likelihood of a clinical miscarriage varies between 7% and 35% depending on whether the mother is in her 3rd or 5th decade. The anguish of a miscarriage is amplified when this becomes a recurrent occurrence. While most miscarriages are chromosomally abnormal it is recommended that after two consecutive losses an evaluation for causes of recurrent pregnancy loss be undertaken. The evaluation focuses on anatomical, hormonal, chromosomal, environmental, and well-established immunologic causes.