What does the general public think causes a miscarriage?

A recent online survey of over 1,000 adults in 48 US states found surprising answers to this question. The public perception of miscarriage directly and indirectly affects my patients everyday. Of the respondents, 55 percent were female and 15 percent had suffered a miscarriage.

The US public thought miscarriage was fairly uncommon. An astounding 55 percent of respondents thought miscarriage happened at a rate of 6 percent compared to what is actually 15-50 percent depending on the woman’s age.

Of the respondents that had a miscarriage, 40 percent felt like they had done something wrong to cause it, 40 percent felt alone and 47 percent felt guilty. The majority – 78 percent – wanted to know the cause of their miscarriage and if a cause was found, the women felt less guilty.

A stressful event was the leading misperception in what people believed caused their miscarriage (78 percent), and 74 percent believe long standing stress could be a cause of miscarriage. Lifting a heavy object was believed to be a cause of a miscarriage by 64 percent of people.

Other causes of miscarriage that people believed included a sexually transmitted disease (41 percent), a previous abortion (31 percent), and a desire to not get pregnant (23 percent).

Helping couples – and the American public – know the true causes of miscarriage and how to treat them is critical.

An appointment with a physician at RSC can help women understand that the most common cause is aneuploidy (or a chromosomal error associated with aging ovaries or genetics), uterine abnormalities, hormonal disease (diabetes, obesity), autoimmune or blood clotting abnormalities. This knowledge can support couples when they need it most and are grieving and need hope and not blame.