What can I do to help reduce my risk of miscarriage?

If you don’t know why you had a miscarriage, it is easy to blame yourself. But it’s important to remember that miscarriages are rarely caused by something you did or didn’t do.  

The most common known cause of early miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities. Chromosomes are blocks of DNA with instructions for your baby’s development. They can sometimes develop in the wrong way. When this happens, your baby gets too many or not enough chromosomes. You baby can’t develop, and the pregnancy can’t continue.

These happen by chance and unfortunately can’t be prevented at the moment. Read more about causes of miscarriage.

There are things you can do help to reduce your risk in the future. 

We’ve listed them on this page:

Stop smoking

Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs

Try to bring your BMI into the 19-25 range

Eat a healthy balanced diet and follow guidelines about what foods to avoid

Don’t drink too much caffeine

Think about air pollution

Stay active

Attend all your antenatal appointments

Tests and treatments

Stop smoking

Smoking increases the risk of miscarriage, as well as premature birth, low birth weight and stillbirth.

There is some evidence that suggests that partners can also increase their partner’s risk of miscarriage by smoking during their partner’s pregnancy or even during the time leading up the pregnancy. It’s not clear whether this is because of the risk of second-hand smoke alone, or because smoking also affects sperm.  

Quitting smoking can be challenging, but there is support available.

Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs

Using illegal drugs or drinking heavily during pregnancy increases your risk of miscarriage.  

There is no amount of alcohol that is considered ‘safe’ to drink during pregnancy. The Chief Medical Officers for the UK recommend that pregnant women don’t drink any alcohol at all. You might find our tips for an alcohol-free pregnancy helpful.  

Read more about alcohol in pregnancy here.

Try to bring your BMI into the 19-25 range

Your BMI (body mass index) is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out a number on a scale.  Having a BMI of under 19 or over 25 before pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. The risk is higher if your BMI is over 30.8

Find out more about managing your weight during pregnancy.  

Eat a healthy balanced diet

Eating a healthy balanced diet before and during pregnancy can help you conceive and help you and your baby stay well.  

Read more about healthy eating before and during pregnancy.  

Follow guidance about food to avoid

There are some things you should avoid because of the risk of infection. Some infections can increase your risk of miscarriage.

Read more about what foods to avoid in pregnancy.

Don’t drink too much caffeine

Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, chocolate, some soft drinks and energy drinks.

High levels of caffeine during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriage and low birth weight. Consuming too much caffeine while you are trying to conceive may also increase the risk of miscarriage. The evidence suggests that this applies to both women and men.12

You and your partner may find it helpful to cut out caffeine or make sure you have less than 200mg a day. This is the same as 2mugs of instant coffee a day or 1 mug of filter coffee.

Use our caffeine calculator to check your daily caffeine intake.  

Think about air pollution

Some types of air pollution may increase the risk of miscarriage.

You may not be able to change where you live but you might be able to limit your exposure to air pollution.

Stay active

Being active before and during pregnancy is good for you and your baby’s health. Read more about being active in pregnancy.

Go to all your midwife appointments

It’s very important to go to all your antenatal appointments and any other medical appointments you are offered during pregnancy. This is so your midwife can:

• check how your baby is growing
• pick up pregnancy-related conditions such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes – these might not have any early symptoms that you would notice but routine blood pressure checks and urine tests can pick up on them, even if you feel fine
• check the health of your baby through blood tests and ultrasound scans
• talk to you about how you’re feeling emotionally and help you get more support if needed.

If you don’t want to go to your appointments because you're worried about having blood tests, tell the midwife about your fears. They can help support you. If you can't go to an antenatal appointment, let your midwife or the hospital know so you can make another one.

Tests and treatment

If you’ve had a second trimester loss (sometimes called a late miscarriage) or 3 miscarriages (recurrent miscarriage), you may be referred for tests to find out why.  

Doctors cannot always find a cause. But if they do find an issue, such as an unusually shaped womb (uterus) or an infection, you may be offered treatment that can reduce the risk of having another miscarriage.  

Find out more about tests and treatments after a miscarriage.

Find out more about things you can do now before you try for a baby and while you’re pregnant to help protect your baby’s future health and bring down your risk of problems in pregnancy.

Pregnancy after a miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy can be an anxious time. We have more support here.