No abstract

Background: Miscarriage or stillbirth is an experience of losing a child. However, in a clinical setting, men are positioned to support women. Therefore, mental support for men is insufficient. It is predicted that marital mourning in men will affect marital relations if it does not go smoothly. This study aimed to clarify the experiences of husbands in couples suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) in Japan and clarify the support based on the husband’s needs.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 husbands attending the outpatient treatment for RPL at visiting clinic of a University Hospital A in City A. The interview data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach.Results: The husbands’ experiences were classified into 13 categories. Based on the interview data, the husbands felt shock of first pregnancy loss, and then while experiencing lingering anxiety regarding pregnancy loss and feeling less grief over subsequent pregnancy losses, they made an effort to accept recurrent loss. Husbands were feeling apologetic to one’s wife, resulting in prioritizing one’s wife and performing actions toward wife with good intentions. Moreover, after experiencing repeated pregnancy losses, husbands felt feelings of hopelessness caused by RPL, while craving for a child and giving up on having a child, and experiencing difficulty faced in sexual relations while maintaining a distant but steady marital relationship. Husbands were hoping that family members would quietly offer support and engaged in stance at work of not wanting people to mention RPL.Conclusions: The husband with RPL supported his wife while suffering from the mental burden of a miscarriage or stillbirth and was isolated in a relationship. Medical professionals should be able to advocate for husbands in couples suffering from RPL to help them voice their feelings to their wives; moreover, frameworks need to be established to support good marital relationships and psychologically support the husbands of such couples.