Guest Author - Krissi Danielsson

Miscarriage causes are a subject that is not well understood, as any readers of this site probably know. Researchers usually blame sporadic, single miscarriage on chromosomal abnormalities but everything from stress to age to NSAIDs to coffee intake has been linked by preliminary correlation studies.

But according to Scientific American, a recent study published in the trade journal BJOG took a population-based approach to studying the miscarriage rates in 603 women who had recently lost a pregnancy in the first trimester and compared their risk factors to a control group of over six thousand who had recently given birth.

The study, which will probably be considered as higher-level evidence than those that typically have smaller study groups, found several interesting findings. First, it found no association with coffee intake and loss, which may lend credence to the idea that coffee intake is associated with miscarriage for reasons other than cause. The study found that those moms who experienced morning sickness during the pregnancy were 70% less likely to miscarry (although this is by no means a definitive sign of loss).

The study also confirmed several associations previously reported in the press. It did find a higher rate of loss among those who had recently undergone fertility treatments, those who regularly drank alcohol, those who started with a lower than normal body weight, those who felt large amounts of stress, and those couples where the father was older.

The study found interesting reduced risks for loss among those who took vitamin supplements, those who ate lots of fruits and vegetables daily, and those who had previously delivered a child. It found no associations with working during pregnancy or with educational level of the parents.

Scientific American’s article concludes with advice that the best way to reduce miscarriage risks is to eat a healthy diet and reduce stress. Of course, that’s good advice for anyone who is trying to get pregnant for many reasons!

It will be interesting to see how this study is followed up. It definitely provides more credence to the idea of stress being a factor in losses, and should be encouragement to try to actively deal with stress rather than merely accept the state of being stressed, and also to look into taking a good quality prenatal vitamin. Ultimately, the fate of whether you miscarry or not is rarely anything you can influence, but taking steps to promote your health and to boost your odds of a good outcome is always good advice.