Myth: Men aren’t impacted by pregnancy loss

Pregnancy loss happens within the female body, and as a result many men/male partners (and others) perceive that it happens first and foremost to female partners (10). Men/male partners often feel that their role is primarily as a 'supporter' to female partners, and that this precludes recognition of their own loss (8,10,11).

Men experience negative psychological outcomes including grief, anxiety and depression following pregnancy loss (8,11). While these can be less intense and less enduring than those experienced by women/people who carry the pregnancy, they are nonetheless important (11). Men and women can grieve differently (8,11). 

References

(8) Obst KL, Due C, Oxlad M, Middleton P. Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2020;20(1):11. 

(10) Williams HM, Topping A, Coomarasamy A, Jones LL. Men and miscarriage: A systematic review and thematic synthesis. Qualitative Health Research. 2020;30(1):133–45.

(11) Due C, Chiarolli S, Riggs DW. The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2017;17(1):380.