A Korean research team of two university hospitals has discovered a method to predict miscarriages in women with previous miscarriages following in vitro pregnancies.

Researchers from Korea University Guro Hospital_{고대구로병원} and Seoul National University Hospital_{서울대병원} conducted a study on 148 women who have experienced two or more unexplained miscarriages after in vitro fertilizations.

The findings showed women who had less than 25 ng/mL blood progesterone concentration levels had a higher probability of having a miscarriage.

Notably, the study found women with a blood progesterone concentration of 25ng/mL or more had a pregnancy maintenance rate of 98 percent. The numbers fell by more than half (41.8 percent) in women who had a blood progesterone concentration of less than 25ng/mL.

The findings suggest that blood progesterone concentration should be above 25ng/mL to significantly lower the risk of miscarriage.

“Although we have known progesterone is a hormone that plays a significant role in pregnancy, we had no accurate figures to predict successful pregnancies until now,” said Professor Kim Yong-jin_김용진 of Korea University Guro Hospital. “This study suggests blood progesterone concentration of 25 ng/mL can be an explicit reference for predicting early miscarriages, which will be helpful in the initial treatment and follow-up studies.”

The study – conducted by Korea University Guro Hospital’s Kim Yong-jin and Shin Jung-ho_신정호 and Seoul National University Hospital’s Ku Seung-yup_구승엽 – was published in the July edition of the international journal, PLOS ONE.