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Pregnant women at risk of miscarrying will be prescribed a hormone therapy on the NHS that could lead to thousands more births every year.
Britain's health watchdog has approved progesterone for expectant mothers who have previously had a miscarriage and are experiencing spotting or bleeding.
The National Institute of Health Care (NICE) made the approval based on research suggesting the therapy will prevent 8,450 miscarriages in the UK each year.
Under the new guidance, women with previous history of miscarriage in the early stages of new pregnancy, before a fetal heartbeat is detected, and who are experienced vaginal bleeding, will be given two 400mg doses of progesterone.
Women with a prior history of miscarriage and who are experiencing bleeding in the early stages of their new pregnancy will now be prescribed a new hormone treatment that could boost their chance of having a live birth by between 5-to-15 per cent according to studies (stock image)
These two doses are inserted into the vagina twice a day via a pessary, a soft flexible device.
If the fetal heartbeat is detected in a subsequent scan the progesterone treatment will be continued until the end of week 16 of the pregnancy.
Progesterone is a natural hormone the body produces during pregnancy. It helps grow the lining of the womb and helps the mother's body accept the growing baby.
NICE made its new recommendation after an examination of two trials into the use of progesterone in pregnancy, one held in both the UK and the Netherlands, and one that was only held in the UK.
