Encountering the health and social environment after a pregnancy loss: A grounded theory study from male perspective

Aim: To develop an empirical model that explores and explains the social process of the encounters of men who suffered pregnancy loss with health and social environments.

Methods: A constructivist grounded theory method was performed, whereby 23 couples were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Men that suffered pregnancy loss were analysed iteratively, with line-by-line and incident-to-incident coding, focused coding and axial coding, until data saturation and the emergence of theory.

Results: The theory Behind bars that hide and mask them illustrates the social process of the encounters of men who suffered pregnancy loss with the health and social environment. Social taboo and gender stereotypes could repress, marginalize, and hide men's feelings. This transposed into the healthcare setting, which focused on the physical aspects of the woman, and lacked an emotional approach, follow-up, and sensitivity. Men reported a lack of recognition or family and social support.

Conclusion: Many men report not feeling involved in the care process after pregnancy loss, in addition to the prioritisation of medicalised care, which can be explained by a medical paternalism approach. These results provide a basis to reflect and plan the inclusion of men for the provision of comprehensive and couple-centred care.

Implications for practice: Communication strategies and emotional management, self-reflection of health professionals, theoretical-practical content with a gender perspective in the training of nurses and midwives, involvement of the organisation and leadership, and further research is required.