What is known about the cause of molar pregnancies?
Although some studies have linked molar pregnancy with dietary or genetic factors, the real cause of molar pregnancy is still unknown. Molar pregnancies appear to be more common at the beginning and end of the reproductive age group. Compared to women aged between 20 and 40 the risk for girls under 15 who get pregnancy is approximately 1.5 times higher and for women aged over 45 the risk is 20-50 times higher than for younger women. The other group who are at higher risk of having a molar pregnancy are women who have had one before. Here the risk is about 10 times higher than normal which works out as about a 1 in 70 chance of having a second molar pregnancy.
