When is genetic carrier screening recommended for recurrent miscarriage?

Miscarriage can have many explanations, and carrier screening looks for gene variants that parents can pass to a child. It does not identify every cause of pregnancy loss. Testing tissue from a pregnancy, when available, and testing the parents answer different questions, so the care team may recommend more than one type of genetic assessment.

Ask for a review of your pregnancy history and both family histories. Take copies of any prior chromosome or genetic reports, including results from pregnancy tissue if testing was performed. Ask whether screening should happen before another pregnancy, and whether a genetics referral would help explain what each test can and cannot show.

Arrange an appointment with an obstetric or fertility clinician after recurrent losses, particularly if a close relative has an inherited condition or a previous pregnancy had an abnormal genetic result. Seek urgent medical care for heavy bleeding, severe pain, fainting, fever, or feeling acutely unwell during a current pregnancy; carrier screening does not replace emergency assessment.

Ask whether carrier screening is relevant to our losses, whether parental chromosome testing is a separate consideration, and how results would affect future pregnancy planning. Ask what follow-up is available for an uncertain or unexpected result.