Progesterone treatment could be offered to pregnant women who at higher risk of miscarriage.
Over 7,000 women who have experienced a miscarriage or bleeding in early pregnancy could be eligible for the treatment every year.
Tommy’s, a charity who support women who have lost their baby prior to birth, has conducted research into the benefits of progesterone for pregnant women have said that nearly eight and a half thousand miscarriages could be avoided by using the treatment.
Jane Brewin, Tommy’s chief executive, said: “It’s great to see Nice taking our progesterone research on board in their new miscarriage care guidelines, which will help save babies’ lives and spare parents heartache.
“Miscarriage is often dismissed as ‘one of those things’ we can’t do anything about – even by some healthcare professionals, who may not specialise in this area [and not] know the latest evidence.
“We hear from women who were denied progesterone treatment when they should have been eligible, simply because their doctor wasn’t familiar with it, so we hope Nice’s recommendation will help end some of these inequalities in miscarriage care that add more pain to an already unbearable experience.”
The National Institute of Health Care and Excellence’s guidelines on the hormone treatment currently say that it should not be given to pregnant women unless they have experienced both a miscarriage and early bleeding.
Professor Arri Coomarasamy, director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research at the University of Birmingham, said: “The miscarriage care guidelines from Nice include a very welcome change, after many years researching the use of progesterone and working to make treatment more accessible.
“Our research has shown that progesterone is a robust and effective treatment option but we know it’s not yet reaching everyone who might benefit.”
