Prevalence of stress among women after first trimester miscarriage

Objective: To determine stress among women after 1st trimester miscarriage. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional survey included 162 women from Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. We used Revised Impact of Events Scale (IES-R) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to collect data. Results: Mean age of women was 25.53 +/- 5.46 years. We found that 43.1% women who had no children before miscarriage had post-traumatic stress disorder while 38.5% women having stress level of high enough to suppress immune system function. 14.6% women who had children before miscarriage had normal stress level after miscarriage while 33.3% had post-traumatic stress disorder. Having children before miscarriage have significantly impact on stress level (p<0.001). Psychological distress, cognitive disorder and general health questionnaire was not statistically significantly different in female who had no children as compared to those who had child/children (p>0.05). Conclusion : Women who experience miscarriage had mild to moderate level of depression in term of its effect on routine work or in term of their lifestyle. The females who lost their first child had more stress as compared to those who faced this loss sin their second or third pregnancy.