UK’s first miscarriage research centre 'to help 24,000 women' every year

UK baby charity Tommy’s has opened Europe’s biggest research centre dedicated to preventing early miscarriage - and says it aims to help tens of thousands of women every year.

Around 200,000 mothers and their partners across the country are affected by miscarriages annually, with 85 per cent occuring within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The charity, which researches the causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, hopes the new centre will shed light on why miscarriage happens, whether it will happen again and how to prevent it.

Lucy O’Sullivan, 37, a blogger who shares her personal experience of multiple miscarriages, told The Independent: “The announcement of the new research centre is amazing news and I am so grateful to Tommy’s and their research partners for all their work to make it happen.

“As someone who has experienced the physical trauma and emotional heartbreak of multiple miscarriages, I am delighted that major effort and expertise will be put into understanding the causes of miscarriage.

“It’s a hugely significant move – not just because it will help to understand the causes of miscarriage and explore possible treatments so as to reduce the rate of miscarriage; but equally importantly on a human level, already the news of the new centre has started to help raise awareness about miscarriage, which I believe will help make it more ok to talk about miscarriage and end the taboo around it.

“The loneliness and isolation that miscarriage brings, and the ways it can affect other aspects of life - hopes, dreams, decisions about work – are so difficult and yet under-recognised. We need to demystify it and make it okay to talk about.

“That’s why this news, and the work of organisations like Tommy’s and The Miscarriage Association, is so important."

Although miscarriage is the biggest cause of pregnancy loss in the UK, it is also the least understood, say Tommy’s. The charity says women are often left without answers as clinical investigations are not usually undertaken until a women has endured three miscarriages.

The National Early Miscarriage Centre - a partnership between the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick and Imperial College London – will enable 24,000 women to access support and treatment, and take part in vital research studies.

Ms O’ Sullivan, who has endured four miscarriages, said: “In my experience support for miscarriage – and recognition of how it can affect women and their families – is usually woefully in adequate.

"The lack of recognition for miscarriage often just serves to reinforce the flawed idea that somehow a pregnancy “didn’t matter”, which increases the feelings of isolation. This new research centre will play a vital role in changing that.”

It is hoped through pioneering medical research, the centre’s scientists and clinicians will uncover what’s going wrong in early miscarriage. These discoveries will pave the way for new treatments, giving pregnant women most at risk much better care.

Professor Arri Coomarasamy, who is the director of the new Centre at the University of Birmingham, said: “Miscarriage is a common but deeply personal and often isolating experience for many couples. Tommy's #misCourage campaign is beginning to provide clear evidence on the widescale devastation it causes.

“At the new Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research, we are determined to make a difference. The scientists and the clinicians from the three universities and the four trusts constitute a world class team.

“We are committed to understand the causes of miscarriage and find ways to prevent it. Tommy's investment in the new Centre is the best thing that has happened to miscarriage research. It will change many lives.”