
The more miscarriages or abortions a woman has, the greater are her chances of giving birth to a child that is underweight or premature in the future, the research shows. Low birthweight (under 2500 g) and (31) birth (less than 37 weeks) are two of the major contributors (32) deaths(33) newborn babies and infants. Rates of low (34) and premature birth were highest among mothers who were black, young or old, poorly (35), and unmarried. But there was a strong association (36) miscarriage and abortion and an early or underweight birth, even (37) adjusting for other influential factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and heavy drinking. Women who had (38) one, two, or three or more miscarriages or (39) in the past were almost three, five, and nine times as likely to give birth to an underweight child as those without previous(40)or abortions.