32% Indians suffer miscarriages, finds study; global rate only 10% - Is the increase due to excessive cell tower radiation?

32% Indians suffer miscarriages, finds study; global rate only 10% - Is the increase due to excessive cell tower radiation?


Indian women seem more likely than other ethnicities to miscarry their first pregnancy or suffer recurrent miscarriages, said a new study by a city doctor. The five-city study, which was published in The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India, said 32% of the 2,400-odd participants had suffered spontaneous miscarriage. Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion with out medical means to terminate a pregnancy has so far been presumed to be 10% across the globe.

The study's lead author Dr Ameet Patki said the main finding was that recurrent spontaneous miscarriage was as high as 7.5% among Indian women. His paper said globally, recurrent pregnancy losses were pegged at 0.8­1.4% of all pregnancies.

“We found the main causes for these repeated miscarriages were genetic, history of infections such as tuberculosis, or structural defects in the women's uterus,“ said Patki. While doctors say it's difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons for frequent miscarriages in many cases, most Indian doctors follow western data and reasons for recurrent miscarriages.

A five-city study, published in The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of India highlights that infections are a major contributor for miscarriages in India, said Dr Bharti Seth, a Delhi-based gynaecologist who was part of the study .

Dr Rekha Daver, who heads the gynaecology department of the state government-run JJ Group of Hospitals, said the study's figures seemed a bit high but highlighted an important issue. “ A few decades back, women wouldn't go to the doctor until they spontaneously miscarried three to four times,” said Daver. But in the age of nuclear families, every pregnancy is treated as a precious one. “Pregnancies are planned these days. So, if a woman miscarries the first time, she rushes to a doctor for complete analysis,” said Daver.

Often women could have anatomical problems leading to frequent miscarriages, she said. “While these can be fixed with medical procedures, some miscarry due to hormonal or immunological reasons and need medication,” she added.

Infertility specialist Dr Aniruddha Malpani said: “Spontaneous first trimester miscarriages are common and occur because of random genetic errors in the embryo.

Most women need reassurance that their risk of another miscarriage is very low.” He added that they usually do not need any testing or treatment.