Journal
PEDIATRICS
Volume 125, Issue 5, Pages E1202-E1207Publisher
AMER ACAD PEDIATRICS
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-3081
Keywords
miscarriage; stillbirth; pregnancy loss; marriage; cohabitation
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [K-12]
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OBJECTIVE: The goal was to evaluate marriage and cohabitation outcomes for couples who experienced a live birth or fetal death at any gestational age. METHODS: For married and cohabitating women who experienced live births, miscarriages, or stillbirths, we conducted a survival analysis (median follow-up period: 7.8 years), by using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, to examine the association between birth outcomes and subsequent relationship survival. The Cox proportional-hazards models controlled for multiple independent risk factors known to affect relationship outcomes. The main outcome measure was the proportion of intact marriages or cohabitations over time. RESULTS: Of 7770 eligible pregnancies, 82% ended in live births, 16% in miscarriages, and 2% in stillbirths. With controlling for known risk factors, women who experienced miscarriages (hazard ratio: 1.22 [95% confidence interval: 1.08-1.38]; P=.001) or stillbirths (hazard ratio: 1.40 [95% confidence interval: 1.10-1.79]; P=.007) had a significantly greater hazard of their relationship ending, compared with women whose pregnancies ended in live births. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first national study to establish that parental relationships have a higher risk of dissolving after miscarriage or stillbirth, compared with live birth. Given the frequency of pregnancy loss, these findings might have significant societal implications if causally related. Pediatrics 2010; 125: e1202-e1207
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