Men’s grief following pregnancy loss
Do you know of local services that men can access following the loss of a baby?
The majority of existing literature and bereavement care guidelines have focused on women. This systematic review sought to summarise the literature focusing on men’s grief following miscarriage or stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for foetal anomaly, and neonatal death up to 28 days after a live birth.
A systematic review of articles published between 1998 and October 2018 was undertaken with searches completed across four databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL).
Findings indicate that men’s grief experiences are highly varied. 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. The review concludes that 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.
Read more: Obst, K.L. et al. (2020) Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: A systematic review and emerging theoretical model. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 11. doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2677-9
