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All About Women

A patient-centered practice for all stages of a woman's life

Gainesville, FL (352) 331-3332
6440 W Newberry Rd, Ste 111

Lake City, FL (386) 754-1744
4447 NW American Ln, Ste 102

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Blog / Pregnancy & Prenatal Care / Can Stress Cause a Miscarriage?

Can Stress Cause a Miscarriage?

August 11, 2020 By Liliana Zapien

causes of miscarriage

There has been a lot of added stress on most people these past few months with the outbreak of COVID-19. If you’re pregnant and trying to navigate a global pandemic, you’re probably at your max.

So, that may have you wondering:

Can stress cause a miscarriage?

To be honest, there are some conflicting views on the answer to this question. Some doctors, scientists and medical professionals believe stress hasn’t been proven to cause miscarriages, but others feel its effects are often overlooked.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) brought together data from 8 different studies to analyze the connection between miscarriage and stress. What they found was that stress does in fact play a role in some miscarriages, especially prior psychological stress.

These studies found that your risk of miscarriage could increase by up to 42 percent if you have high stress levels.

However, there have been other studies that have either found mixed results or that stress does not cause miscarriage. One of the difficult factors to consider with stress and miscarriage is that you can’t put a specific number on a person’s stress level. Stress affects each person differently. What might be “high” stress for one person, may be low or normal for another.

Stress is somewhat subjective and therefore hard to measure.

How to lower stress during pregnancy (7 tips)

Even though doctors and scientists aren’t entirely sure about the true effects of stress on pregnancy, everyone can agree that too much stress does cause problems in your own body and adds stress to your baby too (even if the pregnancy doesn’t end in miscarriage).

If you’re feeling overly stressed or anxious during your pregnancy, try one or all of these tips to help you relax:

  1. Eat healthy and often.
  2. Take a walk or do some light yoga.
  3. Get as much sleep and rest as possible.
  4. Don’t feel bad saying “no” or asking for help.
  5. Keep a journal.
  6. Cut out unnecessary responsibilities or activities.
  7. Talk to your doctor.

Don’t be afraid to admit to family or to your doctor that you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed or anxious. These are common emotions during pregnancy. You’re not helping yourself or your baby by keeping it to yourself.

Common causes of miscarriage

The most common cause of miscarriage is a chromosomal abnormality, so in that situation, there is nothing you can do to prevent it. The embryo simply cannot develop normally because of the abnormality. Often, this problem causes such an early miscarriage that many women don’t even know they’re pregnant.

Some other causes can be prevented with lifestyle or dietary changes. Behaviors like smoking and substance abuse, as well as health conditions such as infections, untreated STDs, and weight problems (over or underweight), can all raise or reduce your risk of a miscarriage.

Talk to your doctor about your stress

If you’re feeling overly stressed or anxious right now, you’re not alone. Talk to your obstetrician right away so you can figure out the best way to manage and lower your stress.

At All About Women, we understand that this pandemic has made everything more stressful and we want to help. Make an appointment with one of our Florida obstetricians today.

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All About Women Obstetrics and Gynecology – Gainesville

Gainesville
6440 W Newberry Rd, Ste 111
Gainesville, FL 32605
(352) 331-3332


All About Women Obstetrics and Gynecology – Lake Cit

Lake City
4447 NW American Ln, Ste 102
Lake City, FL 32055
(386) 754-1744


 

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Gainesville and Lake City OB/GYN Care
OB/GYN doctors at All About Women, Obstetrics & Gynecology offer personalized, technologically advanced obstetrics and gynecology services from Board Certified OB/GYB physicians. Besides expert women's healthcare, permanent birth control and prenatal care, OB/GYN doctors also offers advanced hysterectomy surgery in and around the Gainesville area.


Women's Health Care in Alachua & Columbia Counties
With offices in Gainesville and Lake City, Florida, All About Women, M.D. provides expert OB/GYN services covering the entire range of women's healthcare needs. Our OB/GYN physicians and nurse midwives provide expert care during pregnancy as well as state of the art in-office treatments for gynecologic disorders including Novasure endometrial ablation to treat/stop heavy menstrual bleeding.


Personalized & Expert Prenatal Care
Gainesville obstetricians at All About Women, M.D. help ensure pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible by offering the best prenatal care available. And for those having difficulty getting pregnant, AAW obstetricians and gynecologists offer couples the best infertility help and treatment available.


Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery: daVinci Surgical System
Clinic founder Dr. Anthony Agrios, Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist also specializes in the daVinci Robotic surgery system, a minimally invasive option commonly used for a hysterectomy and other procedures. Instead of creating several small incisions like traditional surgical methods, OB/GYN surgeons simply open one incision with the daVinci system to complete the procedure. Not only do patients experience less pain and blood loss, they recover and get back to normal much faster.


Pregnancy & Prenatal Care: Creative Pregnancy Announcement : Fruits for Pregnant Women

OB/GYN Tips: Choosing an OB/GYN : Robotic Hysterectomy

Infertility & Reproduction Health: Infertility Treatment : Permanent Birth Control

Women's Health: Preventive Care : Well Women Care : Mammogram Screenings : Abnormal Periods

Gainesville Maternity Care

 

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