Global prevalence of post-miscarriage anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
About a third of women have significant anxiety or depression in the six weeks after a miscarriage — what are the specific signs that would mean I should come back rather than wait it out?
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: These are screening-instrument prevalences drawn largely from cross-sectional studies with substantial heterogeneity, so they measure symptom burden rather than diagnosed disorder, and the pooled percentages are sensitive to which scales and cut-offs the contributing studies used.
Pooling 29 studies of 35,375 women, 32.5% reported anxiety, 30.1% depression, and 33.6% stress within six weeks of a miscarriage, with higher rates in low- and middle-income countries. Roughly one in three women is in real psychological distress in the first six weeks — the same window in which most clinical follow-up has already ended.
Worth asking
About a third of women have significant anxiety or depression in the six weeks after a miscarriage — what are the specific signs that would mean I should come back rather than wait it out?
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
Global prevalence of post-miscarriage anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and meta-analysis. — Shetty A, Issac A, Dhiraaj S, et al. (2025)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.15.04245
DOI: 10.7189/jogh.15.04245
How this was scored
- Study design
- Systematic review of observational studies
- Funding
- No external funding
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 35,375
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- 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 "gold standard". Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. It scores 86 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: These are screening-instrument prevalences drawn largely from cross-sectional studies with substantial heterogeneity, so they measure symptom burden rather than diagnosed disorder, and the pooled percentages are sensitive to which scales and cut-offs the contributing studies used. 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?
Global prevalence of post-miscarriage anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and meta-analysis. — Shetty A, Issac A, Dhiraaj S, et al. (2025). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.7189/jogh.15.04245. 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: Systematic review of observational studies. Funding: No external funding. 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.