More than 40 percent of women who have gone through pregnancy have experienced miscarriages, a research group said Sunday.
The group, under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, said around 80,000 women a year are believed to be diagnosed as having had repeat miscarriages or stillbirths and end up not having children.
"We have found that miscarriages happen more frequently than people assume," said Mayumi Sugiura, a professor at Nagoya City University who was involved in the research.
Sugiura also said that women who have repeatedly experienced miscarriages or stillbirths can still have children if they undergo the appropriate treatment and urged them to be examined to determine the cause of the problem.
The group conducted its study on women aged 35 to 79 who underwent health checkups in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, during a one-year period from February 2007.
Of the 503 women in the study, 458 had experienced pregnancy, of whom 190, or 41.5 percent, had suffered miscarriages, according to the group.
Based on the study outcome and other data, the group estimated that around 79,000 women are believed to experience repeat miscarriages or stillbirths each year.
Most miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormality in the fetus, a natural phenomenon that occurs at a uniform rate, so it is likely that a woman could have a baby with her next pregnancy, according to Sugiura.