Early miscarriage: Is stress a factor?

Although stress has long been suspected as a possible cause of early miscarriage, there's no good evidence that this is true.

One small study published in 2006 reported a higher incidence of miscarriages in women with elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol than in women with normal cortisol levels. Although these findings are interesting, the many causes of elevated cortisol levels make this association very tenuous as evidence of cause.

More than 15 percent of documented pregnancies end in miscarriage. The vast majority of early miscarriages are caused by fetal chromosomal abnormalities or other errors in the development of the embryo. Rare causes of repeated miscarriage include blood-clotting problems, abnormalities of the uterus or cervix, hormone imbalances and immune responses that disrupt implantation.

Some stress during pregnancy is inevitable. No one can avoid stress completely. Although excessive or prolonged stress isn't good for you, it is unlikely that stress in itself causes early miscarriage.