The short explanation
After three or more miscarriages, doctors usually look for causes that can be found and sometimes treated. Common tests include blood tests for antiphospholipid antibodies (a clotting-related condition), thyroid function, sometimes blood sugar, and genetic tests (karyotype) for both partners. A scan, often 3D or a saline scan, checks the shape of the womb. In many couples no cause is found even after full testing. That can be frustrating, but it also means the chance of a future successful pregnancy is often still good.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- What is tested can depend on your age, how far along the losses were, whether tissue from a miscarriage was tested, and your other health conditions.
- Some clinics offer tests or treatments that are not supported by good evidence. It is reasonable to ask why each test is needed and how the result would change care.
- Grief after repeated losses is real. Supportive care and early scans in the next pregnancy can help.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This answer cannot tell why your pregnancies ended or what your results mean. Your doctor will explain them together.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- What is each test looking for, and how would the result change what we do?
- Does my husband need any tests too?
- If no cause is found, what care will I have next time?
- Should we see a specialist recurrent-miscarriage clinic?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Emergency — call 112 now
- Call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department if you have a positive pregnancy test with severe pain on one side of the lower belly, pain in the shoulder tip, heavy bleeding, or you feel faint or collapse.
Get help the same day
- Contact your doctor the same day if you are pregnant and have bleeding or cramping.
Raise it at a routine appointment
- Book a routine follow-up to review the results before trying again.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Miscarriage NHS
- Miscarriage MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Infertility NHS
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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