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03 / 07 / 2009 - Two or more abortions could more than DOUBLE chances of a premature birth next time
Women who have an abortion could be risking the health of their next baby, it emerged last night.
Those who terminate a pregnancy are subsequently more likely to give birth prematurely, with two or more abortions more than doubling the odds.
Premature babies are at greater risk of health problems, with one in ten having lung disease, cerebral palsy, blindness or deafness.
Fertility doctors said the study did not prove abortion caused premature births because some of the reasons why women choose to terminate a pregnancy - such as unemployment or money worries - are also linked to early birth.
But other experts said the evidence was 'compelling' and insisted women seeking abortions should be warned of the risk.
The data, revealed at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Amsterdam, comes as abortion rates hit record levels.
More than 200,000 women a year in England and Wales choose to terminate pregnancies - second only to the U.S. in the West.
The link between abortion and premature birth emerged during a review of dozens studies on pregnancy complications.
Combining the results revealed that having one abortion raised the risk of the woman having her next baby prematurely, which is defined as before 37 weeks, by 20 per cent.
The risk of a very premature baby before 34 weeks rose by 50 per cent.
Women who had two or more abortions were almost twice as likely to have a premature baby and two and a half times as likely to have one very prematurely.
Dr Robbert van Oppenraaij, of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said it was not clear what caused the link, suggesting that abortion may harm the womb or create infection.
Smoking, drug use, unemployment and low income are also associated with abortion and premature birth.
However, others said it made 'total sense'. Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment On Reproductive Ethics, said: 'There's a logic. The body is protecting a healthy baby. By producing a abortion, you destroy that protection and make the cervix - the neck of the womb - more vulnerable.
'And if you make the cervix more vulnerable, you are more at risk of a premature baby.
'You don't need a degree in biology to understand that.'
Source: Daily Mail
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Those who terminate a pregnancy are subsequently more likely to give birth prematurely, with two or more abortions more than doubling the odds.
Premature babies are at greater risk of health problems, with one in ten having lung disease, cerebral palsy, blindness or deafness.
Fertility doctors said the study did not prove abortion caused premature births because some of the reasons why women choose to terminate a pregnancy - such as unemployment or money worries - are also linked to early birth.
But other experts said the evidence was 'compelling' and insisted women seeking abortions should be warned of the risk.
The data, revealed at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Amsterdam, comes as abortion rates hit record levels.
More than 200,000 women a year in England and Wales choose to terminate pregnancies - second only to the U.S. in the West.
The link between abortion and premature birth emerged during a review of dozens studies on pregnancy complications.
Combining the results revealed that having one abortion raised the risk of the woman having her next baby prematurely, which is defined as before 37 weeks, by 20 per cent.
The risk of a very premature baby before 34 weeks rose by 50 per cent.
Women who had two or more abortions were almost twice as likely to have a premature baby and two and a half times as likely to have one very prematurely.
Dr Robbert van Oppenraaij, of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said it was not clear what caused the link, suggesting that abortion may harm the womb or create infection.
Smoking, drug use, unemployment and low income are also associated with abortion and premature birth.
However, others said it made 'total sense'. Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment On Reproductive Ethics, said: 'There's a logic. The body is protecting a healthy baby. By producing a abortion, you destroy that protection and make the cervix - the neck of the womb - more vulnerable.
'And if you make the cervix more vulnerable, you are more at risk of a premature baby.
'You don't need a degree in biology to understand that.'
Source: Daily Mail