‘There was just no-one there to acknowledge that it happened to me as well’: A qualitative study of male partner’s experience of miscarriage
Open accessAbstract
Miscarriage occurs in up to one in four pregnancies and can be a devastating event affecting both men and women. Unfortunately, the male partner's experience of miscarriage is seldom researched, particularly within Australia. This qualitative study involved semi-structured telephone interviews with 10 Australian men, whose partners miscarried between three months and ten years ago. Participants were recruited through professional networks and support organisations. Interviews explored men's general miscarriage experience and the support received or lacking from both healthcare providers and social networks. Online health seeking behaviour and opinions on online support were also discussed. Data was transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Most men described feeling significant grief following miscarriage and felt that there was little acknowledgment of their loss, both from healthcare providers and within their social networks. Feelings of sadness, devastation, powerlessness, fear, shock and a loss of identity were common. All men felt their primary role at the time of miscarriage was to support their partner. Most men did not want to burden their partner with their emotions or grief, and struggled to find people within their social networks to talk to about their loss, leading to feelings of isolation. Overall participants felt there was inadequate support offered to men affected by miscarriage. Men wanted information, informed professionals to talk to and male-orientated support networks. A website was one mechanism suggested by men which could adequately contribute to information and support needs during this time. Men are often greatly affected by miscarriage and yet there is all too often little acknowledgement or support available to them at this time. Men affected by miscarriage want and need further support, including reputable, Australian based information and resources tailored their needs.
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Previous research has recommended creative options including activity-based supports, online supports, peer contact, or male support workers.
“Rather, previous research has recommended creative options including activity-based supports, evidence-based online supports, opportunity for peer contact, or including male support workers in hospitals [21, 46, 47].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [47]
The Discussion (page not provided) supports male-oriented online services and opportunities to connect with other men, including through forums and meet-ups. The paper does not recommend activity-based supports or male support workers in hospitals, and it does not establish that the proposed online supports are evidence-based. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA growing body of research has highlighted the importance of investigating men's perspectives, given potential gendered differences concerning grief, help-seeking and service access.
“However, a growing body of research has highlighted the importance of investigating men’s perspectives, given potential gendered differences concerning grief, help-seeking and service access [10–17].”
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 [11]
Nearly all studies in the synthesis spoke of the societal stigma attached to miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death.
“Despite the papers involved in this synthesis spanning over five decades, nearly all studies spoke of the societal stigma attached to miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death (Miller et al., 2019;Miron & Chapman, 1994;Pabon et al., 2019).”
From Fathers’ experiences of perinatal death following miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death: A meta-ethnography (2026) · cites this paper as Miller et al., 2019
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“…or space to reflect on the loss individually appeared to allow both members of the couple to process the event as well as build and understanding or acceptance of the loss: …we had a bit of distance and a bit of space…to understand and come to terms with what had gone on (Miller et al. 2019, p. 9).”
Influential
- Authors
- Miller, E. J., Temple-Smith, M. J., & Bilardi, J. E.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Bilardi, Jade E.
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2019-05-28
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e0217395
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6538154
- OpenAlex
- W2947525266
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 9.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Monash University Research Portal (Monash University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (1013135)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Male Reproductive Health Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Keywords
- miscarriage, male partners, grief, bereavement, social support, healthcare provider support, online support, emotional burden, identity loss, social isolation, support needs, information needs
- MeSH terms
- Abortion, Spontaneous, Adult, Australia, Emotions, Female, Grief, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pregnancy, Sexual Partners, Social Support, Qualitative Research, Social Networking
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