Professor Konje said a better understanding of anandamide and this associated enzyme was likely to help improve the chances of successful implantation and reduce the rate of miscarriage.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Hopes of premature labour insight

However, the researchers said that despite a lower number of invasive tests, the heavier reliance of this method on chorionic villus sampling earlier in pregnancy could actually mean an increase in the number of healthy babies lost if the miscarriage rate using this method was closer to 2%.

BBC: Down's test miscarriage warning