ENGLAND — Pregnancy charity Tommy's has called on NHS England to make women eligible for specialist miscarriage care after a single loss, citing a new pilot study it says could prevent about 10,000 miscarriages a year across the United Kingdom. Women in England currently qualify for specialist NHS care only after three miscarriages.

The study, conducted by Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research and Birmingham Women's Hospital, involved 406 women split into two groups of 203. One group received standard NHS care, while the other received a graded model that began after one miscarriage and escalated support after each subsequent loss. Researchers found a 4% reduction in the risk of future miscarriage among women on the graded model compared with usual care, which would translate to 10,075 fewer miscarriages a year across the UK.

The graded model includes a nurse intervention after one miscarriage to provide advice on reducing risk factors such as low vitamin D levels, folic acid, alcohol consumption and caffeine intake. Women who received the specialist care were 47% more likely to have a risk factor identified and receive relevant advice than those receiving usual care. Among women who had experienced two miscarriages and received the specialised care, one in five were found to have thyroid dysfunction or anaemia.

The graded model proposed by Tommy's is already available in Scotland. About one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, mostly within the first 12 weeks.

"Our pilot study indicates that providing support after a first miscarriage, with escalating care after further losses, is not only effective but achievable without significant additional workload for NHS teams who are already working extremely hard to deliver good care," said Kath Abrahams, chief executive of Tommy's.

Abrahams said the change should be adopted nationally. "Put simply, it is the right thing to do. We will do all we can to drive that change across the UK so that more women and families are supported after every miscarriage," she said.

Gillian Merron, the women's health minister, addressed the broader issue of pregnancy loss. "Pregnancy and baby loss can have a devastating impact on women and families, who too often feel they have been left without the care and support they need," Merron said.

Lisa Varey, 34, who participated in the pilot project, is pregnant and in the last weeks of her second trimester. Tests showed she would benefit from taking progesterone and a regular aspirin tablet to help maintain her pregnancy and increase the chances of a healthy birth.