
Photo from ABCLast Thursday's season finale episode of Grey's Anatomy featured much turmoil in the hospital -- sudden deaths, a shooter, relationship drama, and, by the end, a miscarriage caused by the stress of it all.
Most of the time when I watch Grey's Anatomy, I do so knowing that my doctors don't really talk about their love lives while I'm under the knife (please god). They don't really all trade sex partners back and forth like horny teenagers instead of respected surgeons and mostly, I watch knowing it's fiction.
However, the (very stressful) episode did feature something that, had I been pregnant, would have had me clutching my belly with worry.
**Spoiler Alert**
In last Thursday's episode, Meredith Grey (the doctor for whom the series is named) suffers a miscarriage after her husband and love of her life is shot right in front of her.
It's implied, though never implicitly stated, that the miscarriage was caused by stress. After all, prior to this, she had been developing morning sickness and had a positive pregnancy test just earlier that morning, both indications that the pregnancy was moving in the right direction.
As someone who spent the first four months of both of my pregnancies plagued by stress over the health of the babies and my potential for miscarriage, the show concerned me, so I decided to do a little research.
Dr. Sarah Jeffers is an OB/GYN from Atlanta, Georgia. Her practice, Atlanta Women's Specialists, works out of Atlanta's Northside Hospital. "There is no direct cause and effect relationship between acute onset of stress (like the one encountered by Meredith Grey) and an increased risk of miscarriage," says Dr. Jeffers, who added, "We also have no proof that even prolonged stress like depression or something similar could cause an early miscarriage."
Although there are some studies that have been inconclusive and others that show there may be some link, the show's oversimplification of the matter is simply not rooted in fact, says Dr. Jeffers.
In fact, 50 percent of miscarriages are caused by a chromosomal abnormality. The other 50 percent could be caused by "other factors such as heavy smoking and maternal medical factors, autoimmune disorders, obesity, history of previous miscarriages, and a few others," according to Dr. Jeffers.
Notably absent from the list? Seeing Dr. McDreamy shot before your eyes.
So, yes, let's enjoy Grey's for the eye candy and the drama, but let's leave the medical facts to the real doctors of the world.
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Comments (8)
I thought Mer was pushed down or fell...and that was the reason?
If that happened, I missed it. According to Wikipedia: "Derek's life is saved but Meredith experiences a miscarriage due to the trauma of believing Derek to be dead."
Actually, .NoReGretS., falling down rarely causes a miscarriage, especially not in the first trimester when your uterus is low in the pelvic bones.
Yes, miscarriage, like birthing, is completely and unrealistically out of whack on TV. I mean, 90% of the time both events are depicted with a clench to the stomach and an almost instantaneous outcome. Miscarriage doesn't usually come on that quick and, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, not sure...), neither does full-on labor and giving birth.
You can also have a positive pregnancy test, and pregnancy symptoms the day of a miscarriage. Sometimes your body reacts like you are pregnant for many days before the actual miscarriage. I do agree though, that her miscarriage was not accurate, and being pregnant, I cried...a lot!
I don't think anyone can say what really causes a miscarriage. How can miscarriages not come on that quick CafeSheri? One morning I woke up I was pregnant. No indicators of a misscarriage, but later that day I started bleeding and I wound up miscarrying my baby. I was only 9 weeks. Now of course this is tv so it isn't gonna be completely accurate, but they had to work it into the story somehow to show us what was going on. Oh and I wasn't in any pain when I miscarried.
I don't watch this show so I don't know anything about the circumstances, but fyi, a study that came out just this week said that the shock and stress felt by pregnant women after 9/11 may have contributed to an increase in miscarriages: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/273/abstract
Let's keep in mind that anyone can edit the content on Wikipedia. Some random viewer added the thought that Meredith's miscarriage was caused by the stress of thinking Derek was dead. Taking anything on Wikipedia as fact is not really the safest bet. The show never expressly said why she miscarried.