University of Washington Pregnancy Loss Study

One in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and one in 160 ends in stillbirth. According to the CDC 24,000 babies are stillborn in the United States every year.

Although some pregnancy losses can be caused by known genetic issues or birth defects, very often, as it was with both of our losses, a cause is unknown,

Along with awareness around pregnancy loss, research is another thing I have become very passionate about.

With that, I wanted to spread the word about a study occurring at The University of Washington. Their goal is to investigate any links in pregnancy loss with the hope of being able to provide answers to couples in the future.

For anyone who is interested in joining the study, please see details below, or reach out to me with any questions:

University of Washington - Division of Medical Genetics: Pregnancy Loss Study

You may be eligible to participate if :

• You have had 2, or more, first trimester losses OR 1 or, more, loss(es) after 12 weeks
• Your most recent loss has occurred after 2010

Participation requirements:

• Take an online survey about your pregnancy losses for data gathering
• One-time review of your medical history (via phone) with research lead
• Provide a DNA sample to the study (blood or saliva).  
• You don't need to be in-state! Kits will be provided and can be mailed, no travel or meetings are necessary.
• It is best if both male and female partners are able to provide a DNA sample, but we know sometimes that is not possible.  If that is not possible, the researchers will request that other family members (grandmother/grandfather of baby) enroll so that a history can be created
• Information will be kept secure for use only in the study
• There is no cost to participate

If you are interested in participating, please contact PregLoss@uw.edu or call 206.685.4530.

Please also feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions.  I have been working directly with the research lead to help get the word out to get more participants.

--The brochure from the UW research team is below for reference---