A miscarriage is the life event that professionals of both sexes find hardest to cope with, according to a survey.

Infertility also hit hard, ranking fourth in a list of "milestone events" drawn up from a poll of more than 1,000 skilled and professional workers.

More than one in 10 of those questioned had had a miscarriage or their partner had, and 95% found it hard or very hard to cope with. Next came the death of someone close - hard or very hard for 94% of those affected - and then serious illness at 93%.

Infertility problems were hard to endure for 88% of those having them, more than one in 10 in the survey. Next were separation, redundancy and divorce on 74%. A court case ranked at 72%, and almost two-thirds bringing up teenagers found it difficult. The employee health consultancy PPC, which commissioned the survey, suggested the prominence of miscarriage and infertility reflected life "as people start families later and more women are in the workplace".