Praveen Halappanavar will not be attending the inquest into his wife Savita's death today.
His solicitor explained to reporters that the inquiry has been taking its toll.
It is day five of the inquest into the 31-year-old dentist's death from septicaemia following a miscarriage at Galway University Hospital last October.
Solicitor Gerard O'Donnell spoke outside the coroner's court this morning.
He said: "Well, it has been a stressful week for him and he has just asked to be excused today.
"We will explain that to the coroner, it has been very stressful up to today, though he won’t be here today, he will be here again on Wednesday."