2nd Trimester

Can a stressful event cause a miscarriage?

I'm currently 15 weeks 2 days and last week I did hear the baby's heartbeat twice, both times I was told the baby is super healthy and I was too. But the past 5 days or so, I've been really stressed and crying a lot.  Will this cause a miscarriage or should the baby still be okay? I know I might be paranoid, but I've stress can. This is my first pregnancy, and I just want to make sure I take care of my little one. 
BabyFetus Ticker image Anniversary FuzziBunz at Nurtured Family

Re: Can a stressful event cause a miscarriage?

  • Stress is not healthy for you or the baby. It isn't likely to cause a miscarriage this far in (it's not a very common cause to begin with - though there are medical, scientific links between hormones you produce when you are stressed with everything from miscarriage to low birth weights). 

    Drink plenty of water to re-hydrate yourself. Crying takes a lot of energy and fluid out of you.

    Try to find a way to ease your stress, whether it's talking, going for a walk, taking a bath, or possibly seeking something more professional.

    Don't let worry add to your stress, it will put you into a downward spiral of anxiety.

    If this bout of stress has been triggered by known events, try to walk away from the problem for a while and calm down. If it starts becoming something more like constant stress over every little thing, talk to your doctor and let them know - just like postpartum depression after pregnancy, anxiety and panic disorders can spring up during pregnancy and shouldn't be ignored. 

    image  image

    image image

    *Spontaneous* OHSS diagnosed 08.06.2012
    Right ovary removed 09.04.2012 via vertical laparotomy
    Essure implant placed on remaining tube 06.13.2013; successful followup scan 09.30.2013


  • Many pregnancies continue successfully after significant stressful events (for example the 50+ babies that were born after their fathers were lost in the attacks on 9/11/2001). I think that it's important to keep your doctor informed about more than just the physical symptoms that you are experiencing throughout your whole pregnancy. Your mental health is just as important! Also, build up a support system that you can turn to when you're feeling overwhelmed or down.

  • Loading the player...
  • We were living with my in-laws when I got pregnant this time around.  if THAT stress didn't cause a miscarriage, I don't know what stress can!!!  
    Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie Fourth Birthday tickers Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie First Birthday tickers
  • I was in a mostly verbally abusive marriage while pregnant with my daughter. I frequently was exhausted(from crying or being yelled at all night long), crying all the time, went through a head injury that had me amnesic of the events of the whole day(I actually still can't recall if they did a ct scan as I was 24 weeks pregnant at the time), I was in nursing school, and my husband wouldn't let me contact friends or my mom. The only problem with that pregnancy was difficulty gaining weight at first since fighting and being berated gave me that "nauseated-not-so-hungry" feeling.

    My daughter is a very healthy almost 9 year old now.

    I'm sure there are more traumas then what I went through, but for me, that was the worst time of my life and my pregnancy was fine.  I think you will be okay. Try your best to stay hydrated and rested.

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • There is a huge misconception that a woman can "cause" a miscarriage. If a little bit of stress caused miscarriages, we would have died out with the cave men and the saber toothed cats. 
    Lost but never forgotten <3 : </br> 1st BFP 2/8/06 m/c @ 12 weeks; 2nd BFP 2/9/07 w/ Clomid; DD (Monica Caroline) born 11/16/07; 3rd BFP 3/25/11 w/ injections m/c @ 5 weeks; 4th BFP 8/3/11 w/ injections diagnosed blighted ovum; 5th BFP 1/20/12 m/c @ 9 weeks; 6th BFP 4/27/12 Praying for our rainbow Lilypie First Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • imageChocodoxies:
    There is a huge misconception that a woman can "cause" a miscarriage. If a little bit of stress caused miscarriages, we would have died out with the cave men and the saber toothed cats. 

    Yes

    Exactly this.  You are worrying for absolutely nothing.  People have been having children under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years.  If stress truly caused miscarriages we would have died out a long time ago. 

    11/2010 Diagnosed with PCOS 
    10/31/11 M/C at 9 weeks
    1/12/13 DD was born
    4/9/16 DS was born 
    9/17 CP 
    6/23/18 BFP EDD 3/4/19 

  • imageAllycat11:

    imageChocodoxies:
    There is a huge misconception that a woman can "cause" a miscarriage. If a little bit of stress caused miscarriages, we would have died out with the cave men and the saber toothed cats. 

    Yes

    Exactly this.  You are worrying for absolutely nothing.  People have been having children under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years.  If stress truly caused miscarriages we would have died out a long time ago. 

    People had been having babies under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years - and for thousands of years before modern medicine and lower stress levels, those societies also saw a 50%+ mortality rate among their infants, and the adults rarely lived to see 50... pretty bad examples to use here... Right now, the world wide mortality rate is estimated to be an average of 43 deaths per 1000 births - hoping back less than a century to the 1950s, the rate was 152 deaths per 1000 births. More than 3x higher.... just in the last century. "Thousands of years ago" this rate was ridiculously high. We survived because we didn't have any concept of birth control or fertility management and we were intelligent enough to adapt to new environments and resources... not because we are endowed with magical superior reproductive skills that make us better at handling stress.

    Multiple studies in the last two decades have shown plenty of evidence that stress has a significant impact on pregnancy and even childhood development long after baby has left the womb - more-so in women who are more susceptible to stress. That doesn't mean women should feel guilty for being stressed out - but they should absolutely do what they can to combat it for their sake and the sake of their babies. 

    image  image

    image image

    *Spontaneous* OHSS diagnosed 08.06.2012
    Right ovary removed 09.04.2012 via vertical laparotomy
    Essure implant placed on remaining tube 06.13.2013; successful followup scan 09.30.2013


  • I am sorry you are having a hard time!  I would encourage you to talk to your doctor to get tips for relaxing....and depending on what is going on, it might help to talk to a therapist or trusted friend as well.  

    But no, stress cannot cause a miscarriage.  Many women were pregnant on 9/11 and lost their husbands or family members, and their babies were born just fine.  Stress is not ideal, so it is important to find ways to manage it (exercise, journaling, counseling, warm baths, etc.)....but it will not cause a miscarriage.

    I hope you feel better soon!

    Hugs,

    Jenn 

    We are so thankful that our second daughter, Lillian Elizabeth "Lily", was born healthy and happy on February 11, 2013.  We love her to pieces.  

    We lost our first daughter, Hannah Grace on May 4, 2011.  She was buried on May 14 during a beautiful service at my home church. We are grateful that if she could not be here with us, that she is healed and whole with the Lord. We look forward to the day when we will get to meet her. We love her so much.


  • imageAllycat11:

    imageChocodoxies:
    There is a huge misconception that a woman can "cause" a miscarriage. If a little bit of stress caused miscarriages, we would have died out with the cave men and the saber toothed cats. 

    Yes

    Exactly this.  You are worrying for absolutely nothing.  People have been having children under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years.  If stress truly caused miscarriages we would have died out a long time ago. 

    I agree! Obviously severe physical stress and trauma (a car crash, severe malnutrition/dehydration, forced march in the desert) could cause miscarriage. But I really think that emotional stress from family events, etc., is well within the bounds of the "normal" that humans have evolved to deal with.  So sorry that you have been through so much stress, that is tough.  Take breaks when you can, breathe, think about sunnier times...and I bet your LO is just fine (they can't hear yet at 15 weeks, so he/she is probably oblivious and sleeping soundly through it)!

     

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    image
  • Thanks so much! It really helps. I've been having issues with family, new in-laws, and the hubby as of recently. I feel like I can't stop crying this week. It's been a rollercoaster and I've been trying to take time to relax. 
    BabyFetus Ticker image Anniversary FuzziBunz at Nurtured Family
  • imageRynleigh:
    imageAllycat11:

    imageChocodoxies:
    There is a huge misconception that a woman can "cause" a miscarriage. If a little bit of stress caused miscarriages, we would have died out with the cave men and the saber toothed cats. 

    Yes

    Exactly this.  You are worrying for absolutely nothing.  People have been having children under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years.  If stress truly caused miscarriages we would have died out a long time ago. 

    People had been having babies under far more stressful circumstances for thousands of years - and for thousands of years before modern medicine and lower stress levels, those societies also saw a 50%+ mortality rate among their infants, and the adults rarely lived to see 50... pretty bad examples to use here... Right now, the world wide mortality rate is estimated to be an average of 43 deaths per 1000 births - hoping back less than a century to the 1950s, the rate was 152 deaths per 1000 births. More than 3x higher.... just in the last century. "Thousands of years ago" this rate was ridiculously high. We survived because we didn't have any concept of birth control or fertility management and we were intelligent enough to adapt to new environments and resources... not because we are endowed with magical superior reproductive skills that make us better at handling stress.

    Multiple studies in the last two decades have shown plenty of evidence that stress has a significant impact on pregnancy and even childhood development long after baby has left the womb - more-so in women who are more susceptible to stress. That doesn't mean women should feel guilty for being stressed out - but they should absolutely do what they can to combat it for their sake and the sake of their babies. 

    Or if you look at it this way, we live far more stressful lives than people in the 1950s so stress is good for babies.  I am not saying that is true (clearly stress is not healthy for anyone) but I am just saying your example from the 1950's doesn't really defend what you are trying to say at all.

    Modern medicine and better prenatal care have more to do with life expectancy and a lower infant mortality rate.   

    11/2010 Diagnosed with PCOS 
    10/31/11 M/C at 9 weeks
    1/12/13 DD was born
    4/9/16 DS was born 
    9/17 CP 
    6/23/18 BFP EDD 3/4/19 

  • I'm sure you're fine.

    And FWIW, I think the most annoyingly stressful thing that most women go through during pg is being told or reading that stress will mess up their baby. Call me crazy, but being told that my stress was hurting my kid did NOT alleviate my stress at ALL! Do the best you can to relieve your stress, but rest assured that most studies done on stress during pregnancy looked at people under INCREDIBLE stress, like war zone, bombs dropping type stress. Some research indicates that moderate stress (which, lets face it, in modern times even most of our big stresses are moderate compared to the whole range of potential stressors) actually may boost IQ in babies. 

    Anecdote alert- I was in s VERY stressful work environment during my PG with DD and had multiple scary situations come up during pg (risk of prematurity, growth concerns, low fluid, etc) so I felt a lot of stress during my work day and also due to concerns about DD's health... My DD is now almost two and is a happy, very smart, incredibly verbal and active healthy toddler. 

    Give yourself a break, get a cup of hot chocolate and a chick flick, and try not to beat yourself up!

  • You should be fine. I had a death of a close family member in my first trimester and was a little worried what it would do to the pregnancy. My RE and OB both said that the stress of that situation would not cause a miscarraige. I have heard that blunt trauma can definately harm a pregnancy or cause the loss of the baby but emotional stress shouldn't be of that much concern. It will probably just cause you to be more tired and worn out. If you can find healthy ways to reduce stress it will help you feel better about yourself and feel better for when baby comes.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • My mother lost a baby to stress when she was pregnant. But she was 8 months along and her boyfriend back then was trying to run her over with her car. She ended up in preterm labor and her baby passed because it was the 70's and my sister had under developed lungs. My point here is that being that pregnant and trying to run to save your life is stressful enough to cause a loss. But many women have been through depressing times in their pregnancy and carried happy babies. What you are describing seems like you are just overwhelmed and need time to decompress. your baby should be fine unless you have elevated heart rates and go into panic attack mode. Talk to your doctor, but don't add stress to yourself by worrying about your worrying. And try to figure out to get past this. It isn't healthy for either of you in the long run. I would suggest some therapy to help with your coping and get it off your chest. 
    Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
  • I agree that stress isn't good for you or the baby but it won't necessarily cause a miscarriage either.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"