An 'epidemic' of spontaneous abortion: Psychosocial factors

The belief in a noxious factor of obscure nature exerting abortive effects on first pregnancies became widespread in a small Israeli kibbutz community. In conformance with this collective belief, all of the first six pregnancies, during a period of 18 months, terminated in miscarriage. The authors analysed the available epidemiological data and the psychosocial factors that appeared to be closely associated with the abortion-producing situation. The study stresses the importance of social influences and group contagion in the creation of an anxiety-evoking collective belief that may have had a damaging effect on the course of pregnancy.