Abstract

SANTOS, Priscilla Andrewns dos; TAVARES, Sandi Teresinha Nottar da Silva; PIMENTA, Clara Foletto  and  LEVANDOWSKI, Daniela Centenaro. “My grief is more painful than his”: Experiences ofpregnancy loss. Rev. Subj. [online]. 2023, vol.23, n.3, e13725.  Epub Jan 23, 2026. ISSN 2359-0777.  https://doi.org/10.5020/23590777.rs.v23i3.e13725.

Pregnancy loss (PL) is a complex and potentially traumatic event and is often made socially invisible. The scarcity of studies on psychological aspects related to PL from a male perspective highlights the need to expand understanding of the topic. This study aimed to understand the repercussions and grieving process resulting from a PL, as well as the differences between the experiences of men and women who shared this loss, based on a multiple, qualitative, and cross-sectional case study with three couples. A sociodemographic and Clinical Data Sheet, Brief Symptom Inventory, Perinatal Grief Scale, and an individual interview about the PL experience that occurred in the last 12 months were applied. Data analysis revealed that how the birth was experienced, including the management and care of the teams, can mitigate or complicate the grieving process. The presence of farewell rituals and actions to symbolize the loss, the feeling of the mother/father even in the absence of the child, and the flexibility of the support role between the couple also had an impact on the grieving process. The bodily experience of pregnancy and PL in women proved to be a relevant mark of the female and male experience, both due to the uniqueness of the psychic process it entails and the social understanding of greater female suffering in this situation, which reinforces the importance of giving visibility to pain from both.

Keywords : pregnancy loss; grief; motherhood; fatherhood.

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