Cited by 106Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumMaternal and Neonatal Healthcare

Couples' grief and experience of support in the aftermath of miscarriage

Conway, Kim, Russell, Graeme·2000·British Journal of Medical Psychology

Abstract

The aim of this prospective study involving 39 women and 32 partners was to investigate the grief response of both the woman and her partner to miscarriage and to ascertain if support received was adequate and appropriate to their needs. Previous research shows that partners' grief can often be delayed and chronic. Special emphasis is placed on this area in this study. The miscarriage was found to be a significant event and the majority of women and partners still experienced feelings of loss up to 4 months afterwards, describing their reactions as sad or very sad. Scores on the first administration of the Perinatal Grief Scale showed that, in contrast with previous findings, partners scored significantly higher than the women on the three subscales and overall. Partners' scores on the second administration were also higher than those for the women but the difference was not significant. The women tended to receive and welcome social support more than the partners. Support received from health professionals was not always optimal, particularly for partners. Pregnancy subsequent to miscarriage was often viewed with some anxiety. It is argued that the results of the study have important implications for health practice.

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Crossref · 10.1348/000711200160714

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  • A smaller number of studies have found higher levels of grief in men.

    “However, a smaller number of studies have found similar grief intensity between men and women [24, 25], or even higher levels of grief in men [26].”
  • In Conway and Russell's mixed methods study, men scored significantly higher than their female partners on the three subscales and overall scores on the Perinatal Grief Scale.

    “men scored significantly higher than their female partners on the three subscales and overall scores on the Perinatal Grief Scale.”
  • Almost all quantitative studies and a smaller number of qualitative studies primarily included men as part of a heterosexual couple, with men often recruited through their female partners.

    “almost all of the quantitative studies [7, 16–18, 23–35, 37, 38] and a smaller number of the qualitative studies [39, 40, 46] primarily included men as part of a heterosexual couple, with men often recruited through their female partners.”
  • 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].”
  • There were mixed findings in terms of overall scale scores across similar studies looking at grief following miscarriage, with Despair (internalised grief) scores higher in men than those for Active Grief (externalised grief) in two studies, and lower in the remaining two.

    “There were mixed findings in terms of overall scale scores across similar studies looking at grief following miscarriage, with Despair (internalised grief) scores higher in men than those for Active Grief (externalised grief) in two studies [87, 95], and lower in the remaining two [91, 96].”

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Authors
Conway, K., & Russell, G.
Affiliations
Macquarie University (AU)
Corresponding author
Conway, Kim
Venue
British Journal of Medical Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2000-12
Volume
73
Issue
4
Pages
531-545
ISSN
0007-1129 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2162027715
Cited by
106
References
0
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
FWCI
2.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • British Journal of Medical Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
Keywords
miscarriage, perinatal grief, couples, social support, Perinatal Grief Scale, health worker support, bereavement
MeSH terms
Abortion, Spontaneous, Adult, Anxiety, Female, Grief, Health Personnel, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Pregnancy, Sex Factors, Social Support

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