Having an occasional crying spell isn't likely to harm your unborn baby. More severe depression during pregnancy, however, could possibly have a negative impact on your pregnancy.
While excessive stress isn't good for your overall health, there's no evidence that stress results in miscarriage.
Mood swings and crying spells are a normal part of pregnancy, especially during your first trimester as hormones ramp up. It also takes some time to absorb the emotional weight of life's big changes, like having a child. Take a deep breath. It's your pregnancy, you can cry if you want to!
Stress (e.g. financial or marital problems, death, divorce, physical and nonphysical abuse inflicted on a woman by her partner and loss of social support) was also associated with the likelihood of miscarriage among women reporting to an emergency department or admission to hospital10, 11.
Crying with a low frequency does not adversely affect the fetus. However, if you suffer from depression during pregnancy, your unborn baby can suffer many negative effects.
“Assuming there are no medical issues, there is no harm in a baby's excessive crying,” he says. “They may get a hoarse voice, but they will eventually get tired and stop crying. Your baby may also get a little gassy from swallowing air while crying, but that's OK.
The short and reassuring answer is: no. There is no direct link between stress and having a miscarriage. While some studies suggest that stress can increase the risk of miscarriage, they do not show a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
When you feel happy and calm, it allows your baby to develop in a happy, calm environment. However, emotions like stress and anxiety can increase particular hormones in your body, which can affect your baby's developing body and brain.
Most miscarriages happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies. As many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage.
Stress doesn't directly cause miscarriage. But it may be that high levels of stress for long periods of time (chronic stress) causes poor health in pregnancy which in turn may lead to miscarriage.
If a miscarriage happens during the first 3 months of pregnancy (known as early miscarriage), it's usually caused by chromosomal abnormalities in the baby. These happen by chance. Chromosomes are blocks of DNA, which contain instructions for your baby's development.
A 2019 review of medical studies suggests that sleeping on your back carries risks, but it doesn't seem to matter whether you sleep on your right or left side. These studies do have some flaws, though. Third trimester pregnancy loss is very uncommon. Therefore, there aren't many cases from which to draw conclusions.
Fetuses are most vulnerable early in development, so other factors — such as exposure to alcohol — can have the most damaging effects at this time. This is why most miscarriages occur early in pregnancy. As the fetus gets stronger, it may be less vulnerable to harm.
More than 80% of miscarriages occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. After 12 weeks, the rate decreases rapidly (Dante et al, 2013; Houry and Salhy, 2014).
Depression during pregnancy can also lead to: miscarriage, delivering before the due date (preterm), giving birth to a small baby (low birth weight).
Stress-related changes in a pregnant woman's heart rate and blood pressure, along with chronic anxiety, can affect the heart rate of her developing fetus, a new study concludes.
High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a premature baby (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or a low-birthweight baby (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces).
Easing Your Miscarriage Fears
Try to remember that your fears are normal, but that this phase will pass. Take time to practice mindfulness, meditation, and take some time for yourself. This could include any stress-reducing activities you enjoy like yoga or going for a walk.
They found that after 8 weeks of pregnancy, women who worked two or more night shifts the previous week had a 32% increased risk of miscarriage compared with women who did not work night shifts. Additionally, the more night shifts a woman worked, the greater the risk of miscarriage.
Miscarriage is not caused by the activities of a healthy pregnant woman, such as jumping, vigorous exercise, and frequent vaginal intercourse.
A baby's cry not only demands our attention, it also changes executive function in the brain—the very neural and cognitive processes we use to make everyday decisions.
Some babies cry a lot more than others. A baby who cries more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for at least 3 weeks might have colic. Usually, it starts when a baby is 2–5 weeks old and ends by the time the baby is 3–4 months old.
Period of PURPLE Crying is a research-based education program developed by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Program materials include a booklet with app or DVD (available in mulitple languages), a 10-minute video on crying and a 17-minute video on soothing.
Recurrent early miscarriages (within the first trimester) are most commonly due to genetic or chromosomal problems of the embryo, with 50-80% of spontaneous losses having abnormal chromosomal number. Structural problems of the uterus can also play a role in early miscarriage.