A miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends naturally and unexpectedly before a baby is developed enough to survive, usually in the first few months. When this happens, the growing baby stops developing and the woman's body releases the pregnancy.

Miscarriages are common: they happen in about 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies, often before a woman even realizes she's pregnant. Sometimes a miscarriage happens because something wasn't developing correctly, and the woman's body naturally responds to this. Other times there's no clear reason at all.

When a family experiences a miscarriage, it can feel deeply sad, especially if they were excited about having a baby. People often feel grief similar to losing someone they love, even though the baby hadn't been born yet.

The word can also mean a failure of a plan or justice. When something goes wrong in a courtroom and an innocent person is punished, people call it a miscarriage of justice.