Low-dose aspirin does not prevent pregnancy loss

The Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) medical trial has found that low-dose aspirin is not beneficial for future pregnancy outcomes in women with prior pregnancy loss.

However, in women with one pregnancy loss within the previous 12 months, there did appear to be a benefit.

Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, is a principal investigator of the Buffalo EAGeR trial and co-author of the study 'Preconception low-dose aspirin and pregnancy outcomes: results from the EAGeR randomized trial."

She points out that many health care providers prescribe low-dose aspirin therapy for women who have had a pregnancy loss, and who would like to get pregnant again.

"The effectiveness of this treatment has not been proven, however, which is why this study was undertaken," she said.

"This was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It found that, over all, treatment with low-dose aspirin initiated prior to pregnancy does not increase the rate of live births or reduce the rate of pregnancy loss in women with a history of one to two previous pregnancy losses," she added.

The research is published in The Lancet.