A national survey on public perceptions of miscarriage
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess attitudes and perceptions of U.S. survey respondents regarding prevalence, causes, and emotional effects of miscarriage. METHODS: We used a questionnaire consisting of 33 questions administered in January of 2013 to men and women aged 18-69 years across the United States. RESULTS: Participants from 49 states completed the questionnaire: 45% male and 55% female (N=1,084). Fifteen percent reported they or their partner experienced at least one miscarriage. Fifty-five percent of respondents believed that miscarriage occurred in 5% or less of all pregnancies. Commonly believed causes of miscarriage included a stressful event (76%), lifting a heavy object (64%), previous use of an intrauterine device (28%), or oral contraceptives (22%). Of those who had a miscarriage, 37% felt they had lost a child, 47% felt guilty, 41% reported feeling that they had done something wrong, 41% felt alone, and 28% felt ashamed. Nineteen percent fewer people felt they had done something wrong when a cause for the miscarriage was found. Seventy-eight percent of all participants reported wanting to know the cause of their miscarriage, even if no intervention could have prevented it from occurring. Disclosures of miscarriages by public figures assuaged feelings of isolation for 28% of respondents. Level of education and gender had a significant effect on perceptions and understanding of miscarriage. CONCLUSION: Respondents to our survey erroneously believed that miscarriage is a rare complication of pregnancy, with the majority believing that it occurred in 5% or less of all pregnancies. There were also widespread misconceptions about causes of miscarriage. Those who had experienced a miscarriage frequently felt guilty, isolated, and alone. Identifying a potential cause of the miscarriage may have an effect on patients' psychological and emotional responses. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.
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Women and their partners who suffer miscarriage generally want to understand why the miscarriage occurred, what they can do to prevent miscarriage from happening again, what the chance is of a subsequent pregnancy resulting in a healthy baby, and how to deal with their grief surrounding their loss.
“Women and their partners who suffer miscarriage generally want to understand why the miscarriage occurred, what they can do to prevent miscarriage from happening again, what the chance is of a subsequent pregnancy resulting in a healthy baby and how to deal with their grief surrounding their loss. 3”
From Miscarriage matters: the epidemiological, physical, psychological, and economic costs of early pregnancy loss (2021) · cites this paper as [3]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWomen may believe miscarriage is rare, could be caused by lifting heavy objects or previous contraceptive use, or that there are no effective treatments to prevent a miscarriage.
“For example, women may believe miscarriage is rare, could be caused by lifting heavy objects or previous contraceptive use, or that there are no effective treatments to prevent a miscarriage. 3”
From Miscarriage matters: the epidemiological, physical, psychological, and economic costs of early pregnancy loss (2021) · cites this paper as [3]
The Discussion reports that many participants believed miscarriage was uncommon and that past birth-control use or lifting a heavy object could cause it. The Results also identify past oral-contraceptive use specifically. The survey included men and women, and the passages do not report a belief that no effective treatments can prevent miscarriage. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMisconceptions about miscarriage are widespread.
“Misconceptions about miscarriage are widespread. 1-3”
From Miscarriage matters: the epidemiological, physical, psychological, and economic costs of early pregnancy loss (2021) · cites this paper as [3]
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- Authors
- Bardos, J., Hercz, D., Friedenthal, J., Missmer, S. A., & Williams, Z.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Venue
- Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 125
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1313-1320
- ISSN
- 0029-7844 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4443861
- OpenAlex
- W216408536
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 11.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Obstetrics and Gynecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K08HD068546, HD068546)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Reproductive System and Pregnancy
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Keywords
- miscarriage, public perception, causes of miscarriage, guilt, social isolation
- MeSH terms
- Abortion, Spontaneous, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Data Collection, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Perception, Sex Factors, Shame, United States, Prevalence, Young Adult
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