Women who are under a lot of stress are three times more likely to miscarry during the first three weeks of the pregnancy, a recent study of a small population of women found.

Pablo Nepomnaschy and a group of University of Michigan researchers measured the cortisol levels - a stress induced hormone - in urine samples taken three times weekly for a year from 61women in a rural Guatemalan community.

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The Guatemalan study is the first known study to link increases in cortisol levels to very early-stage pregnancy loss.

According to previous scientific reports, anywhere from 31 percent to 89 percent of all conceptions result in miscarriage. Most studies begin when women notice they are pregnant, about six weeks after conception. Most miscarriages, however, are known to happen during the first three weeks of pregnancy.

The body may recognize the elevated cortisol levels as an alarm that conditions are unfavorable for pregnancy.

"Maybe increased cortisol is understood by the body as a cue that the context is uncertain, changing, or the quality of the environment is deteriorating," Nepomnaschy said. "The body's response is to stop any extra activity and go back to its most basic functions."

Given that previous studies focus on later pregnancy stages did not find an association between elevated cortisol and miscarriage, Nepomnaschy and colleagues speculate that stress may be more likely to lead to loss during the earliest stages of pregnancy, while the embryo is just beginning to develop. 

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