Stress and Miscarriages
I"ve been seeing an RE to help get pregnant and had three m/c in a row. The most recent one on Wednesday. Of course I am a little stressed out that my next pregnancy will result in another loss. Whenever I get pg I begin to stress and it is really hard not to. My job as a teacher this year has also been really stressful. We just recently got a new principal and my class this year is a challenge to say the least. I find myself getting so upset my heat begins to race and there is not much I can do to not-stress about the situation. I go to accupuncture and I've had massages to pamper myself, but that only helps a little. Everyone around me continues to say that I didn't cause this m/c and that it's not my fault, but I can't help think that my stress level has not helped the situation. Everything I've Googled has had mixed messages. Some say yes it does contribute and others are saying no there is no coorelation. What have your doctors said about stress and miscarriages?
Re: Stress and Miscarriages
first, i wanted to let you know that i am very sorry for your loss.
second, do not blame yourself. it is not like you try to get stressed. i am a teacher too, and there are so many variables in our day it is not like we can really plan for everything.
you are in my prayers.
My dr didn't say anything about stress causing a m/c, but it can cause you to no get pg. I'm a teacher as well, and this year is extremely stressful for me as well. I also have a new principal, a new grade to teach and a very challenging class ( 8 students, 5 with add/adhd and 1 with asbergers). I even had to call social services already this year.
So I really don't have any answers for you, but I can sympathize. Have you tried yoga or pilates? They help me some.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle!
April 2011 CP @ 5 weeks
I think stress can cause problems for some to get pregnant, but I really do not believe stress is a factor for causing m/c and I do NOT believe it's because of anything we've done as long as you're not smoking crack and stuff.
I'm so sorry for all of your losses.
Have your doctors looked into why you may be miscarrying? I would hope that three m/c would warrant them to look deeper into why.
Best of luck to you.
click the pic (blog)
I'm very sorry about your losses and I don't think that stress is contributing to your m/c's.
My OB did not say anything about stress equating to miscarriages. He did say that a lot of current research has shown that most m/c's occur b/c of abnormal chromosomes in development. I really don't think that your stress/anxiety is causing you m/c's but I do understand how you can feel that way. After my m/c I thought of everything I could have possibly done to cause my loss and I now realize that I couldn't change the outcome regardless.
It sounds like you are doing all you can to manage your stress and that counts for something. Good luck to you.
-m/c at 11w2d due to partial molar 2008 -m/c #2 2009
Beautiful daughter born February 2011
**Ultimate TTCALer 2009**
I absolutely don't believe that stress causes m/c's. Chromosomal abnormalities explain far too many losses to believe that it was stress, or anything else that the mother did wrong.
I went through quite a period of self loathing and blaming myself for the m/c's, but it eventually passed. That's not to say that one day I woke up and my feelings of guilt were completely gone, it was a willful choice. I had to choose to let those feelings pass. They STILL sneak up on me, but I'm getting better at managing them.
It was also very helpful to me that my RE was extremely nonalarmist. He even encouraged us to have sex in the 1st trimester. He assured me so many times that it was out of my hands, that I finally took it to heart. This is my 4th pg and I have been pretty cool (atleast I think) about this pg. We had sex and I even spotted in the 1st trimester. There were days that I was nervous, but repeating the mantras and just remebering that it is beyond my control helped me to keep myself together. Oh, and I had 4 u/s's before 12 weeks...that certainly didn't hurt
I knew that if we were lucky enough to get pg again, that I wanted to enjoy each and every minute of it. I didn't know how long it would last so I was adament about living in the moment. That's not to say I was overly positive, I was just trying to take things in stride.
I hope you can find some peace with your next pg, not because you are more likely to carry to term, but because pg is a time of joy (no matter how long it lasts). Don't mourn what you haven't lost.
When is your WTF appointment?
Pinkwedding
I have a scheduled u/s on Monday which I am going to keep to see if I've passed everything, but my RE isn't in the office until Tuesday so I'm not sure when my WTF appointment will be.
First, I am so sorry for all that you have been through.
I've never heard of stress being a cause of m/c's. Please don't blame yourself. I know we all think about the what if's and blame ourselves from time to time, but please don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault. (((big hugs)))
Oh Allison, you did nothing to cause the m/c's...please don't blame yourself b/c it is NOT your fault. I totally understand why you feel this way though, b/c I've felt the same way myself at times.
I'm not saying stress is not a factor at all - I just don't think stress causes infertility or m/c's - for me, the impact of stress is on my emotional health. There have been times when I've been so stressed about IF that I could have crawled in a hole and stayed there forever.
My first RE said stress has nothing to do with getting pg or m/c's. My second RE disagreed. My new (and hopefully last!) RE says stress does not help the situation but is convinced I either have an undiagnosed automimmune disorder or my lost ones had chromosomal abnormalities.
((( BIG HUGS )))
I never got any advice from my Dr. on stress, other than being on my feet too long or working too long of a day.
My friend and I were preg at the same time and we both went through a lot of stress, like my mom passed away and had some nasty family issues, but we were ok (this was my first preg with DD which was fine). Someone mentioned that women in war-torn countries, etc. are fine despite the stress of things like that or working in blazing heat in fields all day while preg. I figure that stress is pretty natural, unless it has physical impacts. Don't stress about stressing
I hope you are doing ok.
Nest Bio ~ ~ Baby Food Blog