Exploring the Effects of Pregnancy Loss on Women's Religiosity in the United States

Pregnancy loss is a common and emotionally distressing experience that may increase reliance on religion as a coping resource, yet population‐level evidence remains limited. Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, we examine whether pregnancy loss is associated with religiosity. Across multiple model specifications, results depended strongly on statistical adjustment. Models controlling only for the number of pregnancies yielded negative or null associations. However, additionally controlling for parity consistently produced positive associations across several measures of pregnancy loss, including counts, repeated losses, loss ratios, and early versus later losses. Similar patterns emerged for both religious attendance and subjective religious importance. Interaction analyses indicated that these positive associations were concentrated among women with lower socioeconomic status, including those with lower education, lower household income, and early smoking initiation. The findings suggest that pregnancy loss is associated with higher subsequent religiosity among socially disadvantaged women.