Giving an additional dose of progesterone to pregnant women who previously underwent one or multiple miscarriages can help them led a successful pregnancy, scientists said.

Although the study, carried out by researchers from the University of Birmingham, proves that progesterone is benefitial to women who suffered previous miscarriages, it failed to confirm if the hormone can actually help all those who experience early pregnancy bleeding.

"The role of progesterone in women with early pregnancy bleeding has been studied and debated for about 60 years, however what we have previously lacked is high-quality evidence,” said Arri Coomarasamy, professor of gynaecology at the University of Birmingham and director of Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research.

"Our finding that women who are at risk of a miscarriage because of current pregnancy bleeding and a history of a previous miscarriage could benefit from progesterone treatment has huge implications for practice,” he added.

"This treatment could save thousands of babies who may have otherwise been lost to a miscarriage."