Miscarriage and Stillbirth Can Be Linked to the Father's Health, Study Reveals

A recent study reveals that miscarriage and stillbirth can be linked to the father's health. The recent study suggests that the entire picture is not seen when people said that miscarriage and stillbirth are linked to the pregnant mother's health.

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Pregnant mothers' health

Conventional wisdom suggests that pregnant mothers should have a healthier lifestyle for their babies. 

During pregnancy, the mother's medical conditions and pre-existing conditions are observed to know these conditions can impact their baby.

The recent study

A pregnant mother's health condition is important during pregnancy. However, a recent study says that miscarriage or stillbirth is influenced by the father's health as much as the mother's health does. 

The study was led by an associate professor from Stanford University School of Medicine, Michael Eisenberg. It was published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Before determining that a father's health is related to stillbirth and miscarriages, the study observed millions of pregnancies in the United States.

In the study, babies of fathers who have metabolic syndrome are at risk of stillbirth and miscarriage.

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What is metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is when someone is experiencing a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes or hypertension, and obesity. According to Mayo Clinic, these conditions cause an increase in the risk of stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

The metabolic syndrome means there are more than one of the mentioned conditions. Some of the causes of metabolic syndrome are being overweight, obese, or inactive.

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Father's health is linked to stillbirths and miscarriages.

When a father suffers from metabolic syndrome, there could be a possible impact on the pregnancy.

According to the study, a 10 percent increase in the chances of pregnancy loss has been observed when the fathers suffer from one of the conditions of metabolic syndrome.

A 15 percent increase was recorded when the father has two of the conditions, and when the father has all three conditions, then a 19 percent increase in the chances of stillbirth or miscarriage.

According to Eisenberg, "This is the first study to suggest that pregnancies sired by men with increasing numbers of medical conditions are at higher risk of ending in miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or stillbirth."

Although a link between the father's health and stillbirth and miscarriages was established in this study, it does not prove that a father's poor health is the cause of pregnancy loss.

Eisenberg emphasized, "We hypothesize that the father's health and lifestyle could adversely affect the genetic make-up and expression in the sperm and that this may alter how well the placenta functions."

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