Of the 145 peer-reviewed studies in this collection on EMF and reproductive health, 110 — 75.9% — reported biological effects. On miscarriage specifically the evidence is thinner and mostly occupational: female physical therapists reporting microwave diathermy use around conception had modestly elevated odds of miscarriage, with risk rising alongside reported exposure. Animal work supports a plausible mechanism, showing disrupted implantation and oxidative stress after repeated 2.45 GHz exposure. No study here establishes that everyday consumer device use causes pregnancy loss.
Based on analysis of 152 peer-reviewed studies
Pregnant women often worry about environmental exposures, and electromagnetic fields are a common concern. Researchers have conducted studies specifically examining whether EMF exposure during pregnancy is associated with increased miscarriage risk.
The most significant study on this topic, published in Scientific Reports, followed pregnant women while measuring their actual EMF exposure levels. The findings were notable: women with higher magnetic field exposure had a significantly elevated risk of miscarriage compared to those with lower exposure.
Here we present the research evidence on EMF exposure and pregnancy loss, including both studies that found associations and those that did not.
Of the 145 peer-reviewed studies indexed here on EMF and reproductive health, 110 — 75.9% — reported measurable biological effects. That figure covers reproductive biology broadly. Narrowing to pregnancy loss specifically leaves a much smaller body of work.
The most substantial human study is Ouellet-Hellström and Stewart (1993), a nested case-control analysis of female physical therapists that matched 1,753 case pregnancies ending in miscarriage against controls, using occupational and reproductive histories. Pregnancies in mothers reporting microwave diathermy use in the six months before conception or during the first trimester were more likely to end in miscarriage, with an odds ratio of 1.28 (95% confidence interval 1.02–1.59). The association strengthened with reported exposure level, reaching an odds ratio of 1.59 among those reporting twenty or more exposures a month.
Two points frame that result. The exposure is occupational therapeutic diathermy — far stronger than anything a phone or router produces — and the study relies on self-reported exposure histories, which are vulnerable to recall differences between women who miscarried and women who did not.
The collection also holds two 2002 studies of personal magnetic field measurement during pregnancy and miscarriage risk — a nested case-control study and a population-based prospective cohort study. The database holds their titles and metadata without abstracts, so no findings are attributed to them here.
Shahin and colleagues (2013) exposed mice to 2.45 GHz — the WiFi and microwave-oven frequency — for two hours a day over 45 days at a specific absorption rate of 0.023 W/kg. Implantation sites were significantly affected compared with controls, alongside significant increases in reactive oxygen species and DNA damage in brain cells and a fall in antioxidant enzyme activity. The authors concluded that low-level microwave-induced oxidative stress suppresses implantation and may deform the embryo where pregnancy continues.
Ferreira and colleagues (2006) ran a micronucleus assay on rat offspring exposed in utero to non-thermal cellular phone radiation during embryogenesis, and found a significant increase in micronuclei in erythrocytes — chromosomal damage in the developing animal, by a mechanism the authors described as unknown.
None of this shows that using a phone or living with WiFi causes miscarriage. The human evidence involves occupational sources at intensities consumer devices do not approach. The animal studies deliver controlled exposures over a large fraction of the animal's reproductive cycle, and the translation from a 45-day mouse exposure to a human pregnancy is not straightforward.
Null results are part of the picture. Larsen and colleagues (1991) examined reproductive outcomes among physiotherapists exposed to high-frequency radiation and is classified in this collection as finding no bioeffect.
The practical conclusion is proportionate rather than alarming. The strongest signal in this literature attaches to intense occupational exposure, which most people never encounter. Where exposure is easy to reduce — keeping a phone off the abdomen, using speaker or wired headphones, moving a router out of a bedroom, turning WiFi off overnight — the cost is near zero, and reducing avoidable exposure during a period of rapid cell division is a defensible precaution rather than a response to proven risk.
Unknown authors · 2025
The study and control groups were divided into four subgroups based on gestation week of exposure. Plasma estrogen and progesterone, primordial follicle counts, and nuclei diameters decreased significantly in exposed groups compared to sham. Primordial follicle apoptosis increased markedly in the study subgroups versus control and sham.
Unknown authors · 2025
The study enrolled 1,666 women in the Yazd Mother and Child Cohort between 2015 and 2019 and examined exposure to cell phones, cordless phones, and Wi-Fi. Outcomes included miscarriage, preterm labor, abnormal birth weight, and deviations in newborn height and head circumference. Longer cell phone call duration was associated with higher risks of miscarriage, abnormal birth weight, and height, while cordless phone conversations could increase the risk of abnormal weight in newborns.
Gelenli Dolanbay E et al. · 2025
Pregnant Wistar Hannover rats were divided into sham control, full-gestation exposure (3T RFR), and late-gestation exposure (2T RFR) groups with 2 hours of exposure per day. Male offspring were euthanized at 12 months for testicular analysis. In the full-gestation exposure group, seminiferous tubule diameter and epithelial height were significantly reduced compared to controls. Abnormal sperm morphology increased significantly in the full-gestation exposure group. DNA damage markers and apoptosis were elevated in both exposure groups compared to sham.
Unknown authors · 2024
After four weeks the offspring were sacrificed and hippocampal, kidney, and liver tissues were examined for injury. EMF exposure increased necrotic areas in the hippocampus, hyperemia and necrosis in the kidneys, and degeneration in the liver compared with the group that received both EMF and curcumin. Daily curcumin during pregnancy prevented these tissue injuries in the fetuses.
Karamazı Y, Emre M, Uçar S, Aksoy G, Emre T, Tokuş M · 2024
The study used 20 female and 20 male Wistar Albino rats divided into four groups with different exposure patterns to 6 GHz RF-EMF at 0.054 W/kg. Rats were exposed for 4 hours per day for 6 weeks before mating, and pregnant rats in Group-II and Group-III were exposed for 4 hours per day for 18 days of gestation. Fetal weight, body lengths, and bone measurements all increased significantly in every exposure group compared with controls.
Unknown authors · 2024
Researchers conducted a retrospective study of 1495 pregnant women who gave birth at Konya City Hospital between September 2020 and February 2021. They recorded phone model, average daily phone time, and neonatal outcomes including birth weight, length, head circumference, APGAR scores, and delivery type. The rate of delivering a small-for-gestational-age baby was significantly higher in women who used phones with higher SAR values (p=0.001). A SAR cut-off of 1.23 W/kg showed 69.3% sensitivity and 73.0% specificity for predicting SGA birth. No correlation was found between daily phone use time and SGA birth rate.
Unknown authors · 2023
They assessed mobile phone radiation exposure using daily call time, phone proximity when not in use, phone models, specific absorption rate (SAR), and effective SAR (SAR × call time). Excess weight gain during pregnancy increased CAKUT risk, while folic acid use before pregnancy was protective. Longer daily call time and higher effective SAR values were associated with increased CAKUT risk, but phone proximity when not in use was not a risk factor.
Unknown authors · 2022
Unknown authors · 2021
Pregnant Wistar albino rats were exposed to pulsed 2.45 GHz microwave radiation at 2.8 mW/cm² for 2 hours daily throughout pregnancy. Male offspring were not exposed after birth and were examined at 75 days of age. Exposed adult rats showed irregular seminiferous tubules, degenerated germ cells, reduced tubule diameter and epithelial height, and increased interstitial space. Exposed rats also had more vacuoles, altered organelles, necrotizing cells, empty spaces between Sertoli and germ cells, and increased lipid droplets in Leydig cells. Fluoro Jade-C and superoxide dismutase 2 positivity were increased in exposed rats.
Unknown authors · 2020
Researchers surveyed pregnant women at a hospital in northern Iran about their cell phone use and attitudes. Most participants used cell phones, with only 3.1% being non-users and 6.052% not using during the first trimester. About 64.3% believed cell phones pose risks to the fetus, and awareness was linked to education, residency, and employment.
Unknown authors · 2020
Pregnant mice were exposed to Wi-Fi signal (2.4 GHz) for 2 and 4 hours. Placenta tissues were examined for MDA and SOD levels, and gene expression of SOD, CDKNA1, GADD45a, Bax, and Bcl-2 was measured by real-time PCR, while apoptosis was assessed using TUNEL assay. MDA and SOD levels significantly increased in exposed groups (P-value<0.05), and SOD mRNA expression also significantly increased. CDKN1A and GADD45a gene expression increased in exposed groups (P-value<0.05), and apoptosis increased as shown by quantitative PCR and TUNEL assay (P-value<0.05).
Unknown authors · 2019
Researchers used data from 55,507 pregnant women across four birth cohorts in Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and South Korea to examine associations between maternal cell-phone use and pregnancy outcomes. Exposure was categorized based on self-reported daily call frequency into none, low, intermediate, or high groups. The intermediate exposure group showed a higher risk of lower gestational age (hazard ratio 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07), and exposure-response trends were seen for shorter pregnancy duration and preterm birth. No associations were found with fetal growth or birth weight measures.
Bahreyni Toossi MH et al. · 2018
Pregnant Balb/C mice were exposed to mobile phone radiation (900–1800 MHz) for 2 hours per day over 20 days during pregnancy. Researchers measured malondialdehyde, total thiol groups, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in heart, liver, kidney, cerebellum, and hippocampus tissues of dams and offspring. MDA levels were significantly increased while TTG, SOD, and CAT were significantly decreased in the tissues of both dams and offspring.
Li DK et al · 2017
Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study of 913 pregnant women to examine the association between high magnetic field exposure and miscarriage risk. Using Cox proportional hazards regression and controlling for multiple factors, they found women with higher magnetic field exposure had 2.72 times the miscarriage risk of those with lower exposure (hazard ratio = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.42–5.19). The increased risk was consistent regardless of the origin of the high magnetic field and was stronger when exposure was measured on a typical pregnancy day.
Shirai T et al. · 2017
Researchers exposed pregnant rats and their offspring to eight radiofrequency signals ranging from 800 MHz to 5.2 GHz. The exposure lasted 20 h per day from gestational day 7 through weaning and continued for offspring up to 6 weeks of age. No abnormal findings were observed in the dams, F1 offspring, or F2 offspring across all evaluated parameters. The study concluded that simultaneous whole-body exposure to these frequencies did not show adverse effects on pregnancy or development.
Choi KH et al. · 2017
Yilmaz A et al. · 2017
Pregnant rats were exposed to 900 MHz EMF for 24 hours a day over 20 days using a digital signal generator placed under the cage. Livers and blood were collected from male and female offspring 60 days after birth for biochemical and histopathological analysis. Liver malondialdehyde levels increased significantly while glutathione levels decreased significantly, and serum ALT and AST levels were significantly elevated. Liver sections showed intense hepatocyte degeneration with cytoplasmic eosinophilic structures, pyknotic nuclei, and fibrosis. The researchers concluded that intrauterine EMF exposure causes harmful liver effects that persist into adulthood.
Lu X, Oda M, Ohba T, Mitsubuchi H, Masuda S, Katoh T. · 2017
The study aimed to determine the associations of excessive mobile phone use with neonatal birth weight and infant health status. A sample of 461 mother and child pairs participated in a survey on maternal characteristics, infant characteristics, and maternal mobile phone usage information during pregnancy. The mean infant birth weight was lower in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group, and the frequency of infant emergency transport was significantly higher in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group.
Birks L et al. · 2017
Researchers analyzed data from 83,884 mother-child pairs across five birth cohorts in Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. They categorized maternal cell phone use during pregnancy into none, low, medium, and high based on call frequency reported by mothers. Child behavioral problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire or Child Behavior Checklist at ages 5–7 years. A trend of increasing risk of hyperactivity/inattention problems was observed across cell phone use categories, with odds ratios of 1.11 for medium users and 1.28 for high users. The association was consistent across cohorts and between prospective and retrospective data collection methods.
Othman H et al. · 2017
Researchers exposed pregnant rats to a 2.45 GHz WiFi signal for two hours daily throughout gestation. Offspring were assessed for physical and neurodevelopment during the first 17 postnatal days, anxiety at 28 days, motor behavior at 40-43 days, and cerebral oxidative stress and cholinesterase activity at 28 and 43 days. Prenatal WiFi exposure impaired early neurodevelopment but did not alter emotional or motor behavior in adulthood. It also increased oxidative stress markers and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities at 28 days but not at 43 days, and affected acetylcholinesterase activity in brain and serum.
Othman H, Ammari M, Sakly M, Abdelmelek H. · 2017
Researchers randomly assigned 24 pregnant albino Wistar rats to four groups: control, WiFi-exposed, restrained, and both WiFi-exposed and restrained. Each WiFi exposure and restraint session lasted 2 hours per day throughout gestation until parturition. Prenatal WiFi exposure and restraint, separately and especially combined, adversely affected offspring physical development, neuromotor maturation, adult emotional responses, motor and exploratory behavior, brain oxidative stress, and serum biochemistry, with most impacts depending on offspring gender.
Türedi S, Hancı H, Çolakoğlu S, Kaya H, Odacı E. · 2016
Researchers exposed pregnant Sprague Dawley rats to continuous 900-MHz EMF for one hour daily on gestational days 13-21. Female offspring were evaluated on postnatal day 34 for ovarian follicle counts and histopathology. Exposed offspring showed significantly fewer primordial and tertiary follicles and more atretic follicles and higher apoptotic index than controls. Histopathology revealed severe follicle degeneration, vasocongestion, increased stromal fibrotic tissue, and cytoplasmic vacuolization in granulosa cells.
Odacı E et al. · 2016
Pregnant rats were exposed to 900 MHz EMF for 1 hour each day during days 13 to 21 of pregnancy. At 60 days old, offspring showed higher apoptotic index, greater DNA oxidation levels, and lower sperm motility and vitality compared to controls. Histopathological examination revealed immature germ cells in seminiferous tubule lumen and altered seminiferous tubule epithelium and structure. TUNEL staining showed nuclear changes indicating apoptosis with large numbers of apoptotic cells in most seminiferous tubule epithelium.
Erkut A et al. · 2016
Pregnant rats were exposed to 1800 MHz electromagnetic field for six, 12, or 24 hours daily for 20 days, and offspring were evaluated at 60 days after birth. Increasing prenatal exposure duration significantly reduced resting cartilage levels and increased apoptotic chondrocytes and myocytes. Calcineurin activity decreased in bone and muscle, and femur, tibia, and ulna development was impaired, especially with 24-hour daily exposure.
Odacı E et al. · 2016
Purkinje cell numbers in the cerebellum of 32-day-old female offspring were significantly lower in the EMF group compared to both control and sham groups. Pathological changes including pyknotic neurons with dark cytoplasm were observed in the EMF group.
Further Reading:
For a comprehensive exploration of EMF health effects and practical protection strategies, explore these books by R Blank and Dr. Martin Blank.
