Longitudinal study of emotional experiences, grief and depressive symptoms in women and men after miscarriage

Volgsten, Helena; Jansson, Caroline; Svanberg, Agneta Skoog; Darj, Elisabeth; Stavréus-Evers, Anneli

doi:10.1016/j.midw.2018.05.003

Cited by 62 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…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][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. For example, quantitative studies comparing heterosexual couples' experiences following pregnancy loss and neonatal death suggest that men typically experience less intense and enduring levels of grief than women [18][19][20][21][22][23]. 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].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Contributing to Men’s Grief Following Pregnancy Loss and Neonatal Death: Further Development of an Emerging Model in an Australian Sample

Obst

Oxlad

Due

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Historically, men’s experiences of grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal death have been under-explored in comparison to women. However, investigating men’s perspectives is important, given potential gendered differences concerning grief styles, help-seeking and service access. Few studies have comprehensively examined the various individual, interpersonal, community and system/policy-level factors which may contribute to the intensity of grief in bereaved parents, particularly for men. Methods: Men (N = 228) who had experienced an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for foetal anomaly, or neonatal death within the last 20 years responded to an online survey exploring their experiences of grief. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the factors associated with men’s grief intensity and style. Results: Men experienced significant grief across all loss types, with the average score sitting above the minimum cut-off considered to be a high degree of grief. Eight factors significantly contributed to men’s grief: type of loss experienced, their age at the time of loss, loss history, marital satisfaction, availability of social support, acknowledgement of their grief from family/friends, time spent bonding with the baby during pregnancy, and feeling as though their role of ‘supporter’ conflicted with their grief process. Factors contributing to grief also differed depending on grief style. Intuitive (emotion-focused) grief was associated with viewing an ultrasound during pregnancy, ethnicity, and support received from healthcare professionals. Instrumental (activity-focused) grief was associated with time and quality of attachment to the baby during pregnancy, availability of social support, acknowledgement of men’s grief from their female partner, supporter role interfering with their grief, and tendencies toward self-reliance.Conclusions: Following pregnancy loss and neonatal death, men can experience high levels of grief, requiring acknowledgement and validation from all healthcare professionals, family/friends, community networks and workplaces. Addressing male-specific needs, such as balancing a desire to both support and be supported, requires tailored information and support. Strategies to support men should consider grief styles and draw upon father-inclusive practice recommendations. Further research is required to explore the underlying causal mechanisms of associations found.Trial registration: N/A

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Contributing to Men’s Grief Following Pregnancy Loss and Neonatal Death: Further Development of an Emerging Model in an Australian Sample

Obst

Oxlad

Due

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Population norms suggest that total grief scores above 91 for the PGS are reflective of a high degree of grief [97]. The outcomes reported across studies here (with the exception of one study [96]) indicate that men typically are not scoring in the highly significant grief range. However, they are nevertheless scoring quite highly in general [25,67,84,87,88,91,93] (see Table 2 for a comparison of studies reporting total M and SD scores for the PGS).…”

Section: Quantitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Qualitative studies were generally of a high standard, with methodologies and analyses (content [46,55,60,64,69], thematic [61,65,71,72], grounded theory [59,62,68], autoethnographic [66], descriptive [83] and phenomenological [56-58, 73-75, 77-82]) clearly reported and justified in the context of 'exploratory' or 'understanding lived experience' research aims. Quantitative studies reported either correlational and regression analyses [24,67,76,86,88,90,92,93], or group difference tests [23,25,76,84,87,89,91,[94][95][96], including significance testing of resulting relationships or differences. However, one small quantitative study reported only numbers and percentages of participants who endorsed a particular feeling relating to grief or service outcome [70], and another reported percentages of participants who had received certain support services following a loss [95].…”

Section: Quality Of Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there was an inconsistency in the use of grief measures and reporting grief. Although 13 studies used the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) as a primary measure of grief, some reported average total grief scores [67,88,90,93,95], others average subscale scores [84,96], both [25,87,91], or subscale correlations to predictor variables [24,89]. Finally, 17 studies also grouped together different types of loss as part of the investigation of grief (e.g., miscarriage and stillbirth, stillbirth and neonatal death, or all three types together) [24, 46, 57-61, 73, 77, 80, 83, 84, 86, 88-90, 93].…”

Section: Quality Of Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the 12 quantitative studies that provided raw grief scores for men, outcomes varied considerably both between studies and within them [23,25,67,76,84,87,88,91,[93][94][95][96]. This was indicated by wide range and SDs.…”

Section: Quantitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: A systematic review and emerging theoretical model

Obst

Due

Oxlad

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background : Emotional distress following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss is common, with enduring grief occurring for many parents. However, little is known about men's grief, since the majority of existing literature and subsequent bereavement care guidelines have focused on women. To develop a comprehensive understanding of men's grief, this systematic review sought to summarise and appraise the literature focusing on men's grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss. Methods :A systematic review was undertaken with searches completed across four databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL). These were guided by two research questions: 1) what are men's experiences of grief following pregnancy/neonatal loss; and 2) what are the predictors of men's grief following pregnancy/neonatal loss? Eligible articles were qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods empirical studies including primary data on men's grief, published between 1998 and October 2018.Eligibility for loss type included miscarriage or stillbirth (by any definition), termination of pregnancy for nonviable foetal anomaly, and neonatal death up to 28 days after a live birth. Results : A final sample of 46 articles were identified, including 26 qualitative, 19 quantitative, and one mixed methods paper. Findings indicate that men's grief experiences are highly varied, and current grief measures may not capture all of the complexities of grief for men. Qualitative studies identified that in comparison to women, men may face different challenges including expectations to support female partners, and a lack of social recognition for their grief and subsequent needs. Men may face doubledisenfranchised grief in relation to the pregnancy/neonatal loss experience. Conclusion : There is a need to increase the accessibility of support services for men following pregnancy/neonatal loss, and to provide recognition and validation of their experiences of grief. Cohort studies are required among varied groups of bereaved men to confirm grief-predictor relationships, and to refine an emerging socio-ecological model of men's grief.

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A Genetic Counselor's Guide to Understanding Grief

Ali

Bellcross

2020

Genetic Counseling Practice

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Longitudinal study of emotional experiences, grief and depressive symptoms in women and men after miscarriage

Cited by 62 publications

References 34 publications

Factors Contributing to Men’s Grief Following Pregnancy Loss and Neonatal Death: Further Development of an Emerging Model in an Australian Sample

Factors Contributing to Men’s Grief Following Pregnancy Loss and Neonatal Death: Further Development of an Emerging Model in an Australian Sample

Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: A systematic review and emerging theoretical model

A Genetic Counselor's Guide to Understanding Grief

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