Early miscarriage: Preliminary results from a study in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Fifty women who had suffered first trimester miscarriages were interviewed immediately following hospital treatment, and on up to three subsequent occasions over 6 months. At the first interview, they reported that, although only half the pregnancies were planned, nearly all of them suffered distress at the miscarriage, and that family and friends were generally concerned or supportive. The provision of information regarding miscarriage given to the women while they were in hospital was somewhat variable. State and trait anxiety measures taken across the four interviews over 6 months indicated that this was not a particularly anxious sample of women with respect to trait anxiety, but that state anxiety was raised by the miscarriage and declined in the months thereafter. This study has implications for the professional and informal social support of women who suffer miscarriage.