(April 28, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Two different types of blood thinning drugs, used either alone or in combination, do not appear to help women who experience recurrent miscarriages give birth to a live baby, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Here is some information about miscarriage:
•    It refers to a pregnancy that ends spontaneously before the fetus can survive
•    Common causes include an improperly formed fetus, infections, and various medical conditions in the mother
•    In some cases, miscarriages may result when the mother has a blood clotting disorder, which can prevent an adequate amount of blood from reaching the fetus

Researchers from the University of Leiden randomly assigned over 350 women who had a history of multiple miscarriages and who were either trying to get pregnant or were less than six weeks pregnant to one of three treatment groups. The first group received a daily dose of aspirin plus daily injections of nadroparin. The second group received aspirin alone, and the third group received a placebo.

There was no difference among the three groups of women with respect to the proportion who gave birth to a live baby. Even after looking only at the women who actually became pregnant, the researchers could not find any evidence that any of the treatments increased the likelihood of giving birth to a live baby.

We spoke with Dr. Saskia Middeldorp, MD, PhD, one of the investigators of this study, who offered some further insight.

Today’s research suggests that blood thinning drugs, used either alone or in combination, do not reduce the risk of miscarriage in susceptible women who are not known to have a blood clotting disorder. If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, follow your doctor’s advice about which drugs to take or to avoid