The pressure’s on – but it doesn’t mean you’ll miscarry
When Candice Warner arrived back in Australia after her husband’s role in the Australian cricket team’s ball tampering scandal, she was photographed looking understandably distraught.
What the world didn’t know was that the 33-year-old mother of two (Ivy Mae is 3, and Indi Rae, 2) was also pregnant.
Now, in a new interview with Australian Women’s Weekly, Warner has opened up about suffering a miscarriage just one week after her husband’s public apology.
‘‘I’d have to be bullet-proof for the taunting not to have affected me,’’ she said in the interview. ‘‘It rocked my very foundation and I paid the ultimate price, losing our baby. The miscarriage was a tragic consequence, a heartbreaking end to a horror tour.’’
While Warner is clearly devastated about the loss of a much-wanted pregnancy, her interview has sparked concern among expectant women seeking to discover whether stress can affect the risk of miscarriage.
A meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports in May 2017 found that psychological stress before and during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage by approximately 42 per cent.
The authors suggested the effects of stress hormones, which can impact some of the biochemical pathways essential for maintaining a pregnancy, could be the cause of such findings.
But Dr Raelia Lew isn’t convinced, nor is she alarmed by these results. The fertility specialist from Melbourne IVF and Women’s Health Melbourne, says any study measuring the effect of emotional stress is complex. After all, what one person finds stressful may be water off a duck’s back for someone else.
The research also had other downfalls, including the fact that many of the studies measured stress in different ways.
The researchers noted potential issues, such as recall
bias. That is, when asked whether they experienced stress during pregnancy, women who miscarried may be more likely to remember such incidents compared to those whose pregnancies continued.
When it comes to known causes of miscarriage, the main reason is genetic issues.
And yet, when women come to see her after a miscarriage, they often analyse their previous behaviours, trying to work out what they may have done to lead to such an outcome. She says, most miscarriages have nothing to do with anything a woman did, or didn’t do.
Unfortunately, if a woman miscarries she is naturally more likely to be stressed in her following pregnancy, creating even more pressure.
While Lew doesn’t believe stress is a key cause of miscarriage, she says, ‘‘It makes sense that, if you are pregnant, [you aim to] reduce your emotional stress’’. If you’re worried about how stress is impacting your mental health, see a healthcare professional. But Lew reassures you don’t need to panic if you’re pregnant and worried about how an anxiety-inducing time is affecting your chances of miscarrying. ‘‘The vast majority of miscarriages are completely outside of our control.’’
– Sydney Morning Herald