Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research

Our expert researchers at Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research are at the forefront of research into miscarriage, searching for the causes and pioneering tests and treatments to find solutions.

Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication with approximately 1 in 5 women experiencing at least 1 miscarriage during their reproductive lifetime. This also represents a quarter of all pregnancies affected by loss, devastating families.

Tommy’s believes that the current situation can and must change – so in 2016, we opened the UK’s first national centre dedicated to miscarriage research. It is the biggest research centre focused on miscarriage in Europe and a unique partnership between 3 universities:

and 4 hospitals:

Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research primary research themes

Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research focuses on 4 key themes based on the questions asked by those who experience miscarriage.

  • Why did my miscarriage happen?
  • Will it happen again?
  • Can we prevent it happening again?
  • How can I bear miscarriage emotionally and move forward from here?

Current health guidelines mean that women must have 3 consecutive early miscarriages (called recurrent miscarriage) before there is any investigation. We want to challenge this. The best chance of changing the situation is through research, so we can give women and their partners the answers, care and help that they need.

Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research clinics

Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research includes a network of 4 specialist research clinics. At our recurrent miscarriage clinics, women are given the opportunity to take part in research trials, accessing cutting-edge treatments and tests.  

The clinics are held at the be at the following sites:

  • Birmingham Women's Hospital
  • University Hospital Coventry
  • Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital and St Mary's Hospital, London

“It was such a relief to find someone who actually wanted to help. We felt so disappointed and dismissed by the miscarriage care we had received up until then. I felt hopeful for the first time.”

Danielle from Peterborough had 3 miscarriages before being referred to Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research clinic in Birmingham.

Read Danielle’s story.

Read more about the Tommy’s National Centre Miscarriage Research clinics.

Research Highlights

The PRISM study

The ground-breaking PRISM trial and research studies demonstrated that giving progesterone to women with early pregnancy bleeding and a history of miscarriage can prevent up to 8,540 miscarriages a year in the UK.

PRISM studied 4,153 women with early pregnancy bleeding at 48 hospitals in the UK and found there was a 5% increase in the number of babies born to those who were given progesterone who had previously had 1 or more miscarriages compared to those given a placebo.

The benefit was even greater for the women who had previous recurrent miscarriages – with a 15% increase in the live birth rate in the progesterone group compared to the placebo group. 

In November 2021, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines were updated to recommend progesterone for the prevention of early miscarriage. 

SIMPLANT Study

New evidence from previous research at the University of Warwick showed that women who experience recurrent miscarriage have low levels of stem cells in the lining of their womb. The SIMPLANT trial investigated ways to improve this stem cell count.

In a pilot clinical trial, 38 women aged 18 to 42 who had experienced a high number of recurrent miscarriages were given either a course of sitagliptin or a placebo for 3 menstrual cycles. Biopsies of the womb were taken at the start of the course of treatment and afterwards to determine the number of stem cells present before and after the course.

Our researchers found, on average, a 60% increase in stem cell count in those women who took the full course of sitagliptin. This compares to no significant increase in those in the control group receiving an identical placebo pill. They also saw a 50% decrease in the number of ‘stressed’ cells present in the lining of the womb. There were minimal side effects for the participants.

The team now hope to take the treatment to clinical trial and, if successful, it would be the first targeted specifically at the lining of the womb to prevent miscarriage.

“There are currently very few effective treatments for miscarriage, and this is the first that aims at normalising the womb before pregnancy. Although miscarriages can be caused by genetic errors in the embryo, an abnormal womb lining causes the loss of chromosomal normal pregnancies. We hope that this new treatment will prevent such losses and reduce both the physical and psychological burden of recurrent miscarriage.”

Professor Jan Brosens, of Warwick Medical School and Consultant in Reproductive Health at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Read more about the SIMPLANT trial here.