The experience of early miscarriage from a male perspective
Abstract
• In the literature there is increasing awareness of the psychological consequences of early miscarriage for women. • However, there is little on the feelings, needs and experiences of men whose partner has had an early miscarriage. • This paper aims to describe the experience of early miscarriage from a male perspective using a phenomenological approach. • Seven categories related to the experience of early miscarriage are discussed: Feelings, Loss, Characteristics and differences between men and women, Staff action and attitudes, What to do?, Coping and Time. • Based on an awareness of the needs of both partners, it is suggested that nurses have a key role to play in delivering effective interventions after early miscarriage.
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These expectations were related to masculinity ideals, which often prescribed being strong or stoic in the face of loss.
“These expectations were related to masculinity ideals, which often prescribed being strong or stoic in the face of loss [12, 13, 16, 32, 33].”
From Factors contributing to men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal death: further development of an emerging model in an Australian sample (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
Following pregnancy loss and neonatal death, studies suggest that men may engage in more instrumental grieving styles.
“Following pregnancy loss and neonatal death, studies suggest that men may engage in more instrumental grieving styles, which includes using activities, distraction or problem-solving approaches to grief, as opposed to intuitive styles which use emotion-focused approaches including outward displays of crying, talking about grief, or seeking social support [9, 16, 28–35].”
From Factors contributing to men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal death: further development of an emerging model in an Australian sample (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
The Toughness subscale of the MRNI-SF was used because its items closely aligned with the recurrent theme of men needing to be 'strong' or 'tough' following pregnancy loss reported in previous literature.
“For this study, the Toughness subscale from the MRNI-SF was used, as items closely aligned with the recurrent theme of needing to be ‘strong’ or ‘tough’ reported by men following pregnancy loss in previous literature [10, 13, 16, 32, 33].”
From Factors contributing to men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal death: further development of an emerging model in an Australian sample (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
Female partners' pain after pregnancy loss is typically more visible than men's.
“whose pain is typically more visible.”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Men may feel overlooked and marginalised in comparison to their female partners after pregnancy loss.
“These studies also reported that men may feel overlooked and marginalised in comparison to their female partners”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Five qualitative studies identified the lack of social recognition that many men felt in dealing with a pregnancy loss.
“Five qualitative studies also identified the lack of social recognition that many men felt in dealing with a pregnancy loss”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Men described feeling overlooked, alienated and marginalised in comparison to their female partners who had suffered the physical experience and whose pain was more visible.
“describing feeling overlooked, alienated and marginalised in comparison to their female partners who had suffered the physical experience and whose pain was more visible [10, 39, 43–45].”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
In Murphy's study, participants explained that having children was viewed as being 'normal' in society, so miscarriage threatened the process of becoming a father and having a family.
“Participants in Murphy’s [45] study, for example, explained that having children was viewed as being ‘normal’ in society, so miscarriage therefore threatened the process of becoming a father and having a family.”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Existing research mirrors that with women in finding that pregnancy loss and associated grief lack social recognition, leading to disenfranchised grief for men, as well as challenges accessing support and often negative impacts upon relationships.
“existing research mirrors that with women in finding that pregnancy loss and associated grief lack social recognition, leading to disenfranchised grief for men, as well as challenges accessing support and often negative impacts upon relationships [10, 39, 43–45].”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Many studies made no mention of culture or ethnicity at all, or included a majority of Caucasian participants or those who spoke English.
“Many studies made no mention of culture or ethnicity at all [10, 16, 17, 32, 34, 36, 43–45], or included a majority of Caucasian participants or those who spoke English [28, 31].”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [45]
Ten included studies did not state whether institutional ethical approval had been sought or obtained.
“However, 10 studies did not state whether institutional ethical approval had been sought or obtained [25, 46, 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 91, 93, 94].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Other men in 10 studies reported less intense reactions, including stating that their partners experienced worse grief in comparison to them.
“However, other men in 10 studies (some overlapping with the above 14 studies) also reported less intense reactions, including stating that their partners experienced worse grief in comparison to them [56, 61, 69, 71–75, 78, 79].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
In 11 qualitative studies, men who had developed a bond with their baby throughout the pregnancy described more intense grief following a subsequent loss.
“In 11 qualitative studies, men who had developed a bond with their baby throughout the pregnancy described more intense grief following a subsequent loss [46, 58, 60–62, 73, 75, 79, 81, 82, 85].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Actions that increased attachment included spending time with the baby and attending ultrasound appointments to 'see' the baby and hear the heartbeat.
“Actions that increased attachment included spending time with the baby [66, 85], and attending ultrasound appointments to ‘see’ the baby and hear the heartbeat [46, 61, 62, 66, 73, 79, 82, 85].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
In 10 of 16 studies looking at support, family and/or friends were a helpful facilitator to men's coping following loss.
“In 16 studies looking at support, 10 found family and/or friends to be a helpful facilitator to men’s coping following the loss [56, 57, 59, 66, 72, 73, 75, 79, 81, 82].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
For men in five studies, the need to support their partner came from a perception that she had a more intense grief reaction than themselves.
“For men in five studies, the need to support their partner explicitly came from a perception that she had a more intense grief reaction in comparison to themselves [59, 61, 69, 74, 79].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
In 11 qualitative studies, other men reported negative interactions with healthcare staff, leading to sadness, anger, or distress that worsened or prevented grieving.
“Likewise, other men in 11 of both the same and different qualitative studies also reported negative interactions with healthcare staff. This led to sadness, anger, or distress which worsened or prevented the grieving process [46, 61, 62, 64, 65, 70, 72, 75, 79, 81, 82].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
In remaining qualitative studies, majority of men reported talking with close family or friends post-loss, which they found meaningful and helpful most of the time.
“In the remaining qualitative studies, the majority of men also reported talking with either close family members or friends post-loss, which they found meaningful and helpful most of the time [56, 57, 59, 61, 75, 79, 81, 82].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Pressure to conform to masculine role expectations toward how men should grieve was expressed in 19 qualitative studies.
“Tying in closely with the ‘supporter role’ theme, a pressure to conform to masculine role expectations toward how men should grieve was expressed in 19 qualitative studies.”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
In 13 studies, male participants discussed need to be strong and perceived expectation to hide grief.
“In 13 studies, male participants specifically discussed the need to be “strong”, and a perceived expectation to hide their grief [46, 56–59, 61, 62, 72, 74, 79, 80, 82, 85].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
For majority of men, particularly instrumental grieving style, work provided distraction and was used as coping strategy.
“For the majority of men, particularly those who described a more instrumental grieving style, work provided a distraction from their loss, and was used as a strategy to cope with their grief [57–60, 74, 79].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Returning to work following loss was explicitly discussed in 11 qualitative and one quantitative study.
“Returning to work following loss was explicitly discussed in 11 qualitative studies [57–62, 66, 74, 79, 80, 82] and one quantitative study [86].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Grief was eased when friends and family were available and understanding.
“Grief was eased when friends and family were available to support men, and were understanding of their loss [56, 57, 59, 61, 75, 79, 81, 82].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Attachment at any level is an important predictor of grief, contrary to early assumptions.
“However, in contrast to early assumptions that men only develop an attachment to the developing baby as gestation increases, results suggest that attachment at any level is an important predictor of grief [58, 62, 79, 81, 82].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
Some men in qualitative studies expressed less extreme reactions to loss, indicating representation of a range of experiences.
“However, some men in qualitative studies also expressed less extreme reactions to the loss, indicating representation of a range of experiences [56, 61, 69, 71–75, 78, 79].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
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The Grieving Process of Miscarriages: A Narrative Inquiry
Lau, H. I., Pate, K. D., Anaya, I., Cravens, J. D., Guzmán, A. L., Villalovos, K., & McGuire, C. H. (2024) · Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/15332691.2024.2330891 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“…carrying individual, the non-carrying individuals been found to struggle with the loss in addition to trying to support their partner (Beutel et al., 1996; Franch, 2001; Johnson & Baker, 2004; Kagami et at., 2012; Murphy, 1998; Puddifoot & Johnson, 1997; Stinson et al., 1992; Swanson et al., 2009).”
A Tale of Unseen Suffering: Experience of Recurrent Miscarriage Through Duoethnography
Thiemann, K. L., & Thiemann, J. M. (2019) · Qualitative Inquiry · doi:10.1177/1077800419846631 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Women’s experiences of pregnancy loss: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Kint, E. (2015) · Australasian Journal of Paramedicine · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Mørk, S., Möller, S., O’Connor, M., Henriksen, T. B., & Hvidtjørn, D. (2025) · Death Studies · doi:10.1080/07481187.2025.2469138 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Research indicates that men prioritize supporting and comforting their partners over attending to their own grief and emotional needs (McCreight, 2004; Murphy, 1998) and this prioritization may also be reflected in the gender differences in participation patterns we observed.”
Carthew, J., & Gannon, K. N. (2024) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2024.2433155 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Early miscarriage is a loss with no formal mechanism to mark it in Western societies, such as a funeral or ritual in line with individual beliefs or a clear cultural script to rely on (F. A. Murphy, 1998).”
Lived Experience of Miscarriage From Men's Perspective
Kalantari, S., & Abdekhodaie, Z. (2025) · The Family Journal · doi:10.1177/10664807251349844 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Is There a Father in the House? A Handbook for Health and Social Care Professionals
Mander, R. (2004) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03254_1.x · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Narratives of fathers' experiences of the stillbirth or neonatal death of their infants
IMAMURA, M. (2012) · Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery · doi:10.3418/jjam.26.49 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…個々の経験から培われてきた価値観および人生観に基 づき語られた。本研究においては，研究参加者が語り たいことを語ってもらうことを主としているために， 内容はおのずと個別なものとなっているが，その中に は同時に共通性も見えている。 Ⅳ．考 察 死産・新生児死亡によって子どもを亡くした父親が 体験した7つの特徴の中から，「覆われている父親の悲 しみ」，「妻を守るという役割」，「喪失に対する意味付 けをするということ」に関して考察する。 １．覆われている父親の悲しみ 本研究における父親全員が，元来他者に相談はしな…”
High Evaluation of Medical Staff by Women after Miscarriage during Hospitalization
Iwanowicz-Palus, G., Rzońca, E., Bień, A., Włoszczak-Szubzda, A., & Walczuk, E. (2014) · The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine · doi:10.1620/tjem.232.155 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Studies by Murphy (1998) concerning the perception of miscarriage from the male perspective, indicated that all respondents felt very lonely while coping with this experience.”
BackgroundThe Differential Impact of Suicide Type on Provision of Social Support: A Qualitative Comparison
Villa, D. P. (2009) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Exploring the meaning of the paternal experience of perinatal loss: A phenomenological study
Cholette, M. (2012) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
MOROOKA, Y. (2016) · Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery · doi:10.3418/jjam.30.290 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Samuelsson, M., Radestad, I., Segesten, K. (2001).”
InfluentialAn exploratory study of miscarriage on altered marital relationships and factors
Takenoue, K., SATOH, T., & TSUJI, K. (2006) · Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery · doi:10.3418/jjam.20.2_8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Elfer, A. (2017) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Meaning of Miscarriage: Measurement, Reproductive Factors, and Trajectories in Couple Dyads
Huffman, C. (2019) · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · doi:10.17615/k364-dy48
Women's Mental States after Spontaneous Abortion (2)
Takenoue, K., SATOH, T., & Matsuyama, T. (2000) · Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery · doi:10.3418/jjam.14.2_5
Kinzler, W. L., & Vintzileos, A. M. (2006) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/b14622-18
Volsch, J. (2015) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Hodkinson, P., & Das, R. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66482-4_2
van den Akker, O. (2012) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119968382.ch13
Experience of fathers who have lost a child and the support that they desire from nurses
Yoshida, S., & Kayo, S. A. T. O. (2022) · Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery · doi:10.3418/jjam.jjam-2021-0044
O znaczeniach nadawanych rodzicielstwu przez mężczyzn w kontekście doświadczenia poronienia dziecka
Miernik, B. (2024) · Nauki o Wychowaniu Studia Interdyscyplinarne · doi:10.18778/2450-4491.19.07
Workplace support following a perinatal loss: the experience of bereaved fathers
Hénault, S., Zeghiche, S., Noël, R., de Montigny, F., Lauzier, M., Verdon, C., Coulombe, S., DaCosta, D., & Meunier, S. (2026) · International Journal of Workplace Health Management · doi:10.1108/ijwhm-08-2025-0201
Hénault, S., Bédard-Lévesque, M., de Montigny, F., Noël, R., Zeghiche, S., Verdon, C., Coulombe, S., & Meunier, S. (2026) · Etudes sur la mort/Études sur la mort · doi:10.3917/eslm.163.0207 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Murphy, F. A.
- Affiliations
- Swansea University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Murphy, Fiona A.
- ORCID
- Murphy, Fiona A.
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1998-07
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 325-332
- ISSN
- 0962-1067 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2702
- OpenAlex
- W2057876231
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Keywords
- early pregnancy loss, male partners, men's experiences, grief, loss, coping, gender differences, nursing role, bereavement support
- MeSH terms
- Abortion, Spontaneous, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Attitude to Health, Bereavement, Emotions, Fathers, Female, Humans, Male, Pregnancy, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Social Support, Nursing Methodology Research, Needs Assessment
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