Exposure to Job Loss in Pregnancy Linked to Miscarriage, Stillbirth

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to job loss during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for miscarriage and stillbirth, according to a study published online Sept. 27 in Human Reproduction.

Alessandro Di Nallo, Ph.D., from Bocconi University in Milan, and Selin Köksal, from the University of Essex in Colchester, England, used data from a longitudinal survey that interviewed a representative sample of households living in the United Kingdom annually since 2009 to examine whether exposure to job loss during pregnancy increases the risk for miscarriage or stillbirth. The final sample included 8,142 pregnancy episodes with complete information on pregnancy outcome and date of conception.

The researchers observed an estimated increased risk for pregnancy loss when women were exposed to their own or their partner's job loss during their pregnancy (odds ratio, 1.99) in baseline models controlling for women's demographic background and prior experience of miscarriage. The association remained robust when the models were adjusted for all socioeconomic and partnership-related covariates (odds ratio, 1.81).

"Our findings are important as we uncover a potential socioeconomic, hence preventable, factor behind pregnancy losses that can be addressed through effective policymaking," Köskal said in a statement.

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