Association of induced abortion with subsequent pregnancy loss
A. A. Levin, S. C. Schoenbaum, R. R. Monson, P. G. Stubblefield and K. J. Ryan
We compared prior pregnancy histories of two groups of multigravidas--240
women having a pregnancy loss up to 28 weeks' gestation and 1,072 women
having a term delivery. Women who had had two or more prior induced
abortions had a twofold to threefold increase in risk of first-trimester
spontaneous abortion, loss between 14 to 19 and 20 to 27 weeks. The
increased risk was present for women who had legal induced abortions since
1973. It was not explained by smoking status, history of prior spontaneous
loss, prior abortion method, or degree of cervical dilatation. No increase
in risk of pregnancy loss was detected among women with a single prior
induced abortion. We conclude that multiple induced abortions do increase
the risk of subsequent pregnancy losses up to 28 weeks' gestation.
