Can Yelling Cause a Miscarriage? Causes and Concerns

Pregnant women are often told to avoid stress and to stay calm and relaxed for the sake of their unborn baby. However, is this advice necessary, can yelling cause a miscarriage? If you are pregnant and have been feeling stressed and getting into arguments, I want you to try to not feel guilty or anxious. Let’s have a look at the real reasons why women miscarry and delve into the impacts of yelling on your unborn baby.

Can Yelling Cause a Miscarriage? – Everything you Need to Know about Stress & Miscarriage

If you are pregnant and have been going through a stressful period, arguing with your partner, or having screaming fights, you may be worrying if you are at risk of having a miscarriage. I get it, during my pregnancy, I worried a lot about miscarriage, especially in the first trimester. In fact, with around 10 – 20% of clinically recognized pregnancies ending in miscarriage, it is perfectly understandable that expectant mothers often wonder can yelling cause a miscarriage? The reality is, that yelling alone will not cause a miscarriage but that the stress and upset related to arguing can negatively impact your unborn baby.

Can Yelling and Stress Cause Miscarriage?

A very common question among pregnant women- can screaming and yelling cause a miscarriage? There is no concrete evidence that has found that screaming and yelling can cause a miscarriage. Or that raising your voice will harm your baby, nor will being in the company of someone who is shouting at you. However, there has been research into the impact of stress on pregnancy, and the results, while conflicting at times, mostly show stress should be avoided as much as possible.

Pregnancy isn’t always easy and growing a baby can put a lot of stress on a woman’s physical and mental health. While minor stressful situations like having a disagreement with a colleague or forgetting to get milk from the store are unlikely to do any harm, long periods of stress can lead to several issues, including:

Raised blood pressure.
Difficulty sleeping.
Loss of appetite.
Premature birth/low birth weight.
Unhealthy coping mechanisms (drugs, alcohol, smoking).
Chronic diseases including heart disease.

Stress and Pregnancy

If you are struggling to eat and sleep properly due to stress, this will have a negative impact on your health and may lead to complications with your unborn baby. For instance, if you are not eating enough and are losing weight, your baby may not get the nutrition they need.

Some expectant women may find they are turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with arguments and stress during their pregnancy. One glass of wine may not be enough to harm your baby, but drinking alcohol regularly during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriage, premature birth, and FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). Similarly, drugs and cigarettes can put your unborn baby at risk and when used regularly, can lead to serious complications with the baby’s development, and their consumption is widely known to increase the risk of miscarriage.

Unhealthy lifestyle choices aside, stress can create changes to hormones and chemicals inside the body, without us even realizing it. When we experience high levels of stress, higher levels of cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine can be produced in the body. While there is research to suggest cortisol may affect the placenta – the baby’s life source – other contradicting research suggests stress has no impact on the blood flow through the umbilical cord to the fetus.

However, research is ongoing and with studies finding links to stress and premature birth, it is not surprising that pregnant women are often advised to avoid stress, it is always better to be safe than sorry, after all.

What Can Cause a Miscarriage?

Does yelling cause miscarriage? While there is no scientific research that can 100% prove that screaming and yelling can cause a miscarriage, it is best to stay as relaxed as possible during your pregnancy for the sake of your own mental wellbeing, Stay calm for the sake of the baby may not be advice based in any real facts, but miscarriage is more common than you may think and there are several reasons why they occur.

Ignore the old wives’ tales, let’s take a look at what can really cause a miscarriage:

Abnormal chromosomes in the baby – Chromosomes are the biological building blocks of all human beings. Sometimes, when a baby is first forming in the womb, they do not have enough or too many chromosomes, or the chromosomes they do have just don’t fit together correctly. When this happens, the baby will not develop properly and may stop growing completely, leading to a miscarriage.
Drug and alcohol use – As we explained earlier, drugs and alcohol can lead to the loss of a pregnancy. Your baby’s liver is far too underdeveloped to deal with the effects of alcohol and the chemicals from drugs can get into your baby’s bloodstream and cause serious development issues, or death. It has also been found that consuming too much caffeine can lead to miscarriage, this is why pregnant women are advised to reduce the amount of tea, coffee, and energy drinks they drink each day.
Long-term health conditions in the mother – If a pregnant woman has certain health conditions, she may be more prone to pregnancy loss. Diseases and health conditions that have a link to miscarriage include lupus, diabetes, under or overactive thyroid, obesity, and heart disease.
PCOS – There is a link between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and infertility, as the condition can prevent ovulation. However, due to the nature of the condition, it is also thought that PCOS may cause miscarriage.
Weakened cervix – If the muscles in the cervix are weakened, due to previous injury or surgery, they may open too early. The cervix is the opening to the womb and if the muscles can not stay closed throughout the pregnancy, a miscarriage may occur.

As you can see, yelling and screaming are not recognized as a cause of miscarriage. Neither is lifting heavy objects, having sex, or eating spicy food. However, when an unborn baby’s life is at stake, it makes sense that women often choose to err on the side of caution and believe all the myths surrounding what can cause a miscarriage.

How to Avoid Stress During Pregnancy

I assume you have arrived at this article because you are pregnant and have been experiencing arguments and unrest in your life recently. Now you know that screaming and yelling won’t cause miscarriage or harm your baby, let’s try and find ways you can look after your own mental wellbeing as your pregnancy progresses.

Eat well – Healthy food = healthy mind. Feed your body nourishing meals and you will soon notice the positive impact on your mental health.
Exercise – Unless you have been advised to avoid it by your doctor, exercise is perfectly safe in pregnancy. You don’t need to be hitting the gym every day, I found a long walk alone was always a good way to ease my worries and boost my mood when I was expecting.
Breathe – If you feel yourself becoming stressed, try to focus on your breath. Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose. Counting as you breathe can help you to focus and free your mind from negative thoughts.
Talk – A problem shared is a problem halved. If you are feeling down, talk to your partner, your mom, or your girlfriends about it. If you feel like you have no one to talk to, find a local support group for expecting moms or turn to the online mom community.

If you are regularly having arguments with your partner and are worried the yelling is impacting your pregnancy, perhaps couples counseling may help. You could also try setting boundaries and communicating clearly to try and avoid future conflict. Arguments may not be linked to miscarriage, but pregnancy can be a challenging time and it is important you prioritize your own mental wellbeing.

Yelling and Miscarriage FAQs

Can Getting Angry Cause a Miscarriage?

There is currently no evidence to suggest that getting angry can cause a miscarriage. However, it is important to try and stay as relaxed as possible during pregnancy to avoid the negative impacts of high-stress levels on your unborn baby – such as low birth weight and premature birth.

How Can I Control My Anger During Pregnancy?

There are many anger management techniques women can use to avoid becoming overly angry and stressed during their pregnancy. A counselor can help you to develop healthy strategies to deal with your anger, or a support group may be helpful. Yoga and meditation are known to reduce stress and anger. In fact, any exercise can help to boost your mood and help you into a more positive headspace.

What Should I Do To Avoid Miscarriage?

Unfortunately, in many instances miscarriages are unavoidable. Pregnancy loss can happen due to abnormal chromosomes and this early stage in development is out of the parent’s control. However, women can help to give their pregnancy the best start by eating healthily, taking vitamins, exercising, relaxing, resting, and taking folic acid. Pregnant women are advised to avoid drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and cigarettes as these are all linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.

Can You Stop a Miscarriage Once It Starts?

Once a woman is experiencing miscarriage symptoms, it is usually not possible to stop the loss of the pregnancy. If bleeding has already begun, this is often a sign that the baby’s heartbeat has stopped and the pregnancy has ended. However, when bleeding occurs after 20 weeks but the baby’s heart is still beating, this is known as a threatened miscarriage and the mother may need to be put on bed rest to prevent an actual miscarriage from happening.

Conclusion

If you have been wondering can yelling cause a miscarriage, this article will hopefully have helped put your mind at rest. There is currently no solid scientific evidence that proves screaming and yelling can result in pregnancy loss.

However, stress can negatively impact pregnancy and if you are experiencing regular and upsetting arguments, you may want to reach out for help.

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