Hopes of preventing women from suffering multiple miscarriages have been boosted after UK-based scientists have for the first time identified a cause.

Research into developing a treatment will be undertaken by the same academics behind the breakthrough research, which discovered that a lack of stem cells in the womb lining is causing thousands of women to suffer from recurrent miscarriages.

One in five pregnancies are thought to end in a miscarriage, while one in 100 women trying to conceive suffer recurrent miscarriages, which has been defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies.

Researchers at the University of Warwick found that a shortfall of stem cells is the likely cause of accelerated ageing of the lining of the womb, which results in the failure of some pregnancies.

Jan Brosens, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology who led the team, said: “We have discovered that the lining of the womb in the recurrent miscarriage patients we studied is already defective before pregnancy.

“I can envisage that we will be able to correct these defects before the patient tries to achieve another pregnancy. In fact, this may be the only way to really prevent miscarriages in these cases.”

Siobhan Quenby, a co-author of the study and University of Warwick professor of obstetrics, said that the real challenge now was to develop strategies to increase the function of stem cells in the womb lining and that new interventions to improve the lining of the womb would be piloted in the spring of 2016.

“Our focus will be two-fold. First, we wish to improve the screening of women at risk of recurrent miscarriage by developing new endometrial tests,” added Quenby, who is also an honorary consultant at University hospital Coventry.

“Second, there are a number of drugs and other interventions, such as endometrial ‘scratch’, a procedure used to help embryos implant more successfully, that have the potential to increase the stem cell populations in the womb lining.”

The researchers examined tissue samples from womb lining donated by 183 women who were being treated at the Implantation Research Clinic, University hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust.

Women who had lost three consecutive pregnancies were found to have a reduced number of stem cells in their womb lining.

The study, a collaboration between the University of Warwick’s medical school and Warwick systems biology centre, has been published in the journal Stem Cells. It was funded by the Genesis Research Trust and the Biomedical Research Unit in Reproductive Health, a joint initiative between Warwick medical school and University hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust.

Support for anyone affected by miscarriage is provided by the Miscarriage Association, which also works to raise awareness and to promote good practice in medical care.