Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a multicenter, prospective,…
It's been months and I still get flashbacks and intrusive thoughts about the loss — can you screen me for post-traumatic stress rather than assuming this is normal grief that will pass?
Reasonable evidence with real limitations. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Attrition was substantial and grew over follow-up: 67% of the loss cohort completed the one-month questionnaire, 58% at three months, and 46% at nine months, so the later percentages rest on a shrinking and possibly non-representative subgroup. These are validated screening thresholds, not clinical diagnoses.
Following 737 women through the nine months after early pregnancy loss at three London hospitals, 29% met screening criteria for post-traumatic stress at one month and 18% still did at nine months; moderate-to-severe anxiety went from 24% to 17% and moderate-to-severe depression from 11% to 6%. Compared with women in ongoing viable pregnancies, the odds of moderate-to-severe depression a month after loss were nearly four times higher (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.27-19.2). Distress falls over time but does not resolve on its own.
Worth asking
It's been months and I still get flashbacks and intrusive thoughts about the loss — can you screen me for post-traumatic stress rather than assuming this is normal grief that will pass?
What to watch for
Evidence quality tells you whether to trust the finding — not whether the treatment is safe. These are the risks this research reports.
- Fertility & pregnancy risk
Source
Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study. — Farren J, Jalmbrant M, Falconieri N, et al. (2020)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 737
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "moderate evidence". Reasonable evidence with real limitations. It scores 68 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Attrition was substantial and grew over follow-up: 67% of the loss cohort completed the one-month questionnaire, 58% at three months, and 46% at nine months, so the later percentages rest on a shrinking and possibly non-representative subgroup. These are validated screening thresholds, not clinical diagnoses. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study. — Farren J, Jalmbrant M, Falconieri N, et al. (2020). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cohort study. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.