Myth: There are 14,000 miscarriages every year in Ireland

The number of miscarriages in Ireland is unknown and is not formally recorded. 

National guidance on miscarriage management, published in 2012 reported that 14,000 early pregnancy miscarriages happen per year in Ireland.  This statistic appears based on an estimate of miscarriages occurring in 20% of ‘clinically recognised’ pregnancies (20% of the 72,225 births registered in 2012) (1,2).

HIQA’s care experience programme report on early pregnancy loss in 2022 concluded that there was a lack of standardised recording and reporting of early pregnancy loss in Ireland (3).

References

(1) Health Service Executive, 2022. National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death. Version 2. Health Service Executive, Dublin.

(2) Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Directorate of Strategy and Clinical Programmes, Health Service Executive, 2012. Clinical Practice Guideline: Management of Early Pregnancy Miscarriage. Version 1.0. Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and Directorate of Strategy and Clinical Programmes, Health Service Executive, Dublin.

(3) National Care Experience Programme, 2021. Early Pregnancy Loss: A Scoping Review of Research in Ireland. Health Information and Quality Authority, Cork.