Can Stress During Pregnancy Cause Miscarriage?
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Some researchers believe that stress during pregnancy could be a major contributing factor to both miscarriage and stillbirth, while others believe that there is no such link between stress and miscarriage.
There are a lot of pregnancy myths making rounds! You may often worry about these, whether you could be actually putting your baby at risk with your lifestyle or work habits. You may also have heard of many pregnancy to-do’s and don’ts, and about stress having the power to cause miscarriage.
Can stress cause miscarriage? Are you seriously under this delusion? This probably got you even more stressed, and the cycle just never ends! Relax, we’re here to explain more about how stress may or may not lead to miscarriage, and some quick and easy tips to handle them.
Does Stress Cause Miscarriage?
Okay, let’s sort out the basics first and answer the key question: does stress cause a miscarriage? The short answer is no, but the long answer is, if unchecked for long, stress can cause complications that may hamper pregnancy. While it may be hard to get away from everyday stresses like deadlines and emergencies, it is advisable that a pregnant woman keeps herself happy and positive throughout the pregnancy period.
Well, it is believed that having a positive attitude doesn’t merely impact your own health, but also improves your baby’s health and development. If you’re one of those who are finding it hard to believe how stress may actually cause pregnancy complications, consider this: stress has been held responsible for a number of diseases and health conditions today from elevated blood pressure and diabetes to major life threatening conditions like cancer.
The Science Behind:
Latest medical research tells us that the physical and mental health of an individual are closely linked; a bad mental condition or attitude could ultimately have impact on the physical health of the individual as well. So you may very well believe that stress (particularly chronic stress) could affect your child’s well being and development. In fact, some studies have confirmed how chronic stress during pregnancy could cause learning problems in children.
It is important to understand that stress is an undeniable part of everyone’s life today, and minor stress is not linked to miscarriages or other development problems in most cases; however, if you’re under constant stress, you could be putting your baby at risk. A study conducted by a team of researchers at Tufts University, which has also been published in the journal Endocrinology, has revealed chronic stress may release certain hormones that may trigger miscarriage.
[ Read: Pregnancy After Miscarriage ]
Easy Ways To Tackle Stress:
Nobody wants to be stressed all the time. Thankfully, there are some easy ways to tackle stress and keep you and your baby safe. Here we bring you the best tips and tricks to keep stress away and have a blissful pregnancy period:
- Try relaxation techniques like yoga, deep breathing and meditation to calm down frazzled nerves and relax your mind and body.
- Feeling down after a day’s work? Try taking a nice long shower or listen to soothing music, while your hubby gives you a foot rub (well, ask him to!)
- Instead of indulging in guilty pleasures, grab foods that make you feel better naturally without affecting you and your baby. Think bananas, dark chocolate and milk.
- Find solace in a hobby or special interest. It can be any simple activity such as reading a book, watching a movie, knitting a sweater or making a greeting card.
- Browse through your old photo album, and marvel at how time flies and how far you have come in the world… it will always leave you feeling light hearted!
- Talking to an old buddy is yet another great stress buster. Renew old friendships, make the call or write an email to a long-forgotten friend or relative.
- Pet therapy works every single time you’re feeling low, and if you don’t really have a pet, now’s the time to get one. After all, you cannot have one once the baby comes!
- It is important to stay at your best during pregnancy, be it mental or physical health. Everything that you do during these crucial months of your pregnancy affects your baby. So keep away from stress, breathe easy and know that this too shall pass!
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