Dyadic Coping and Couple Resilience After Miscarriage

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact of miscarriage on the couple relationship, particularly lived experiences related to partners' perceptions of increased closeness and strength in the relationship.BackgroundCurrent miscarriage literature lacks a process‐oriented understanding of how miscarriage influences partner interactions and how partner interactions influence resilience and coping after this loss.MethodThis qualitative study used semistructured interviews to conduct a combination of dyadic and individual interviews with six couples, resulting in 18 interviews.ResultsThe couples described themes of both positive and negative impact on the relationship, the shared nature of the loss, dyadic coping strategies, and specific partner interactions that supported resilience.ConclusionExperiencing miscarriage as a shared loss seemed to create important opportunities for healthy dyadic coping and interactional processes.ImplicationsFindings can guide medical and mental health professionals in providing more effective support to couples after miscarriage.

A Multidisciplinary, Family-Oriented Approach to Caring for Parents After Miscarriage: The Integrated Behavioral Health Model of Care

“…Research indicates that these relational impacts result from high levels of distress ( 38 ), differing perceptions of the meaning of the loss ( 4 ), incongruences in expression of grief and desired support ( 36 , 37 ), avoidance coping strategies that reduce emotional support within the relationship ( 35 ), and even different expectations between partners regarding how to react to the loss and how to grieve ( 4 , 35 ). However, despite these challenges, some couples experience relationship growth after miscarriage as a result of turning toward each other for support during a difficult time, embracing both similarities and differences in their grief, and experiencing support and care from their partner ( 39 , 40 ). Partners experiencing growth after miscarriage cite availability of and quality of support as important factors enabling this growth ( 39 ).…”

“…However, despite these challenges, some couples experience relationship growth after miscarriage as a result of turning toward each other for support during a difficult time, embracing both similarities and differences in their grief, and experiencing support and care from their partner ( 39 , 40 ). Partners experiencing growth after miscarriage cite availability of and quality of support as important factors enabling this growth ( 39 ). Enhancing support across both personal and healthcare networks may improve parents' abilities to cope with this difficult loss, and perhaps even contribute to reductions in the level of disenfranchisement accompanying miscarriage.…”

“…With this type of loss often unacknowledged or misunderstood for mothers, other family members' grief may be even more invisible. Additionally, miscarriage can create stress in partner and family relationships as individuals cope in different ways and struggle to navigate the loss together ( 35 , 39 ).…”

“…BHPs can invite partners and family members to participate in the behavioral health services they provide their patients. This couple and family level of care can support family members in exploring their unique experiences of the loss, meanings of the loss, issues related to identity and guilt, expression of grief, grieving together and separately, emotional intimacy after loss, physical intimacy after loss, and shared experiences of disenfranchisement ( 3 , 28 , 36 , 39 ). Additionally, for primary care practices, the patient may be a partner or family member of someone who has miscarried; as part of a biopsychosocial approach applied to all patients, providers may discover the impact of miscarriage while treating these patients and have an opportunity to mobilize the clinic's additional resources for them as well.…”

The effect of depression and the reframing strategy on the level of satisfaction with family life in infertile and post-miscarriage couples: dyadic analyzes

“…It is a traumatic event that provokes the experience of grief, which can trigger symptoms of mental disorders: depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD (Guzewicz, 2014;Krosch, Shakespeare-Finch 2017). Experiencing loss together, partners' openness and a strong, lasting relatioship allow partners not only to return to the state before the occurrence of a difficult event, but also to come out stronger (Hamama-Raz et al, 2010;Kiełek-Rataj et al, 2020;Hiefner, 2021).…”