British researchers say they have made a key discovery which could help improve treatment to help prevent women having a miscarriage.
The Warwick University researchers have been studying the role of steroids in preventing the problem.
Their research shows a direct link between steroids and cells called natural killer cells, which appear to gather in large numbers in the lining of the wombs of women who lose their babies.
The study has shown that these cells prevent the production of natural steroids in the body, leading to inadequate amounts of fats and vitamins being formed for the pregnancy.
The researchers say their findings suggest doctors should continue to investigate the use of steroids to prevent miscarriage.
The findings, which also involved researchers in Tokyo, Japan, and in Rijeka, Croatia, have been published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Professor Siobhan Quenby, an obstetrics specialist at the Warwick Medical School, said: "This work is really exciting because after years of controversy and doubt we have a crucial breakthrough.
"This means, quite simply, that we have excellent scientific justification for steroid based treatment to prevent miscarriage."
Elevate peri-implantation uterine natural killer cell density in human endometrium is associated with impaired corticosteroid signaling in decidualizing stromal cells. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism September 2013
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