Ectopic Pregnancy and Miscarriage May Cause PTSD in Women

Miscarriage or a lost pregnancy due to the natural death of the fetus or an embryo. Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which an embryo doesn’t attach inside the uterus but to the outside. This new study suggests that ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage is the cause of long- term post-traumatic stress.

The scientists at Imperial College London and KU Leuven studied over more than 600 women. The majority of the women had experienced an early pregnancy loss before completing twelve weeks or ectopic pregnancy. In an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo grows not inside the womb and is not capable of developing.

The scientists found that most of the women who had experienced early pregnancy loss undergone post-traumatic stress while some had suffered severe depression and some severe anxiety. The Imperial Health Charity and the Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre are raising funds to make improvements in the care of women to protect them from early-stage pregnancy loss.

This research is published in the “American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology” and is available online to study.

The lead author of the research for Miscarriage Research at Imperial College London finds that early miscarriage is the most unpleasant event in a woman’s life. The woman who experiences this tragic event undergoes long-term traumatic stress even after a year or more time after her pregnancy loss and its difficult to take out those women from that stress.

A consultant Gynecologist, professor Bourne,  considers that early pregnancy loss is a very common issue and people should talk about this issue more openly because counseling and general support can prove more helpful for many women.

The researchers found that most of the pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and in the UK more than two lace women experience early pregnancy loss and nearly eleven thousand women experience ectopic pregnancy every year.

The study showed that about eighty percent of women experienced a pregnancy loss before twelve weeks while twenty percent of women experienced an ectopic pregnancy. The study was conducted in these three hospitals of London, Queen Charlottes and Chelsea, Chelsea and Westminster, and St Mary’s.

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In the study, the women were asked about their behavior and emotions after pregnancy loss and they found that the levels of psychological symptoms were higher in those women who had experienced early pregnancy loss than those women who had healthy pregnancies.

Dr. Jessica Farren finds that post-traumatic stress not only affects one element of a person’s life but also affects persons’ homes, work, and relationships. Many women are afraid of pregnancy loss that’s why they don’t discuss or even tell about their pregnancy to their husband, friends or colleagues before the 12-week scan.

Pregnancy loss or ectopic pregnancy can have long term effects on the mental health of women and researchers are looking forward to providing the best care to patients and their families too.

This research suggests that women should break the silence about her pregnancy before the 12-week scan to protect themselves from early pregnancy loss. It also signifies that a woman needs more care during the early days of her pregnancy period.