Drug combo could help women who miscarry

A new drug combination may be more effective for women who suffer miscarriages without symptoms than current standard NHS treatment, new research suggests.

Missed miscarriage – also known as delayed or silent mi s c a r r i a g e – i s whe n a baby has died in the womb but the mother has not had symptoms, such as bleeding or pain.

National guidelines reco m m e n d a t r e a t m e n t called misoprostol, which is successful in most cases.

B u t so me wome n wa i t a n x i o u s l y f o r w e e k s , repeating the medication a n d e ve n t u a l l y n e e d i n g surgery.

However, research published in the Lancet indicates misoprostol is more effective when combined with mifepristone which is an anti-progesterone drug used to induce labour.

Researchers concluded that it crucially reduced the need for surgery.