TOP TAKE-AWAYS: CONCRETE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BREAKING THE SILENCE

Why is it that miscarriages are rarely ever talked about? It seems as though we only hear about them when it happens to someone close to us. Even then, the individuals who experience this tragedy often feel silenced. 

In this article, Layne (1997) shared her personal story of miscarriage. Just like any woman trying to conceive, Layne and her husband rejoiced as they discovered that they would soon become parents. After her thirteenth week of pregnancy, Layne began to have complications. She started cramping, spotting and soon began to bleed profusely. She called her birthing center and they directed her to contact the emergency room. Layne was not happy when she found out that no one from the birthing center would accompany her after promising that they would be by her side if anything were to go wrong. She claims that she “wrongly assumed their principle of care.” Despite their lack of support, her husband rushed her to the ER where she found out that she would be going home without her baby.
Layne described her experience as “one of the worst experiences” of her life, but also as the “most confusing.”  Aside from being saddened, the miscarriage was marked by confusion about how to feel, what happens next, and how to cope.  


She was also confused by other people’s reactions. Some people stopped by to give their condolences and keep her company, while others acted as if nothing happened.  Layne continued to say, “Others minimized my loss by comparing it with what were, at least to their minds, worse hardships like being able to conceive.”

It is clear that pregnancy loss is in fact a “taboo” topic in our culture, which makes it extremely easy for people to ignore and dismiss it.  When people experience a loss in our culture, it is customary to visit those who are mourning, and send flowers and sympathy cards to express our condolences. This rarely occurs following a pregnancy loss.  Sadly, this dismissal of pregnancy loss can extend to healthcare professionals as well.  After Layne experienced her loss, she felt neglected by her physician. She stated, “Because it happens so often, it is considered evidence of normal variation in the pregnancy process.”  Women who give birth to healthy babies receive an abundance of love, support, and attention, while the women who lose their babies may receive very little support during a time when they need it the most.   

Knowing that pregnancy loss is often neglected, we need to ask ourselves, how can we break this trend? Here are some recommendations from Layne (1997):

• Including this topic as a part of childbirth classes is essential. These classes presume that each woman participating will eventually deliver a healthy baby. Classes should include all outcomes of pregnancy to help mentally prepare these women for all possibilities. 
• Incorporating pregnancy loss in books and pregnancy guidelines will also help to break this silence. 
• Updating statistics on pregnancy loss is a vital piece of spreading awareness.  Layne mentioned that “most pregnancy losses are not granted the status of “vital” statistics.” This is problematic because the fewer statistics we have, the less information we have. Obtaining more accurate statistics is an important step in increasing public awareness. 
• Equally important, support groups are also a great way to “break the silence” of pregnancy loss. Creating a safe space for families who have experienced pregnancy loss is extremely beneficial. In fact, after Layne’s pregnancy loss, she decided to conduct her own research. She joined/conducted several support groups to establish the groundwork for her study. Layne organized surveys and participated in various support groups and played both the “parent” and the “professional” role.

What we can conclude from this article is that not all hope is lost. We are making strides toward breaking the silence surrounding pregnancy loss.  Our goal now should be to reduce the stigma associated with pregnancy loss in hospitals, clinics, families, and our everyday culture. 


Layne, L.L. (1997). Breaking the silence: An agenda for a feminist discourse of pregnancy loss. Feminist Studies, 23, 289-315. doi:10.2307/3178398