Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse data from one man whose partner underwent a third-trimester termination of pregnancy for foetal abnormality. This case study examines the data from the participant and aspects of grief are examined qualitatively from a male perspective. The importance of the male role, management of his own particular needs and coping mechanisms are discussed in the context of society’s expectations and current thinking on grief counselling. The impact of a new technique in obstetric management is highlighted in this case.
Barbarin, D. A. , & Chesler, M. (1986). The medical context of parental coping with childhood cancer. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 221-235.
2.
Beck Black, R. (1989). A 1 and 6 month follow-up of prenatal diagnosis patients who lost pregnancies. Prenatal Diagnosis, 9, 795-804.
3.
Beck Black, R. (1991). Woman’s voices after pregnancy loss: Couples’ patterns of communication and support. Social Work in Health Care, 16, 19-36.
4.
Bergh, C. , Moller, A., Nilsson, L., & Wikland, M. (1999). Obstetric outcome and psychological follow-up of pregnancies after embryo reduction. Human Reproduction, 14, 2170-2175.
5.
Blumberg, B. , Golbus, D., Mitchell, S., & Hanson, K. H. (1975). The psychological sequelae of abortion performed for a genetic condition. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 122, 799-808.
6.
Cordle, C. , & Prettyman, R. J. (1994). A two year follow up of women who have experienced early miscarriage. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 12, 37-43.
7.
Garel, M. , Stark, C., Blondel, B., Lefebvre, G., Vauthier-Brouzes, D., & Zorn, J. R. (1997). Psychological reactions after multifetal pregnancy reduction: A 2-year follow-up study. Human Reproduction, 12, 617-622.
8.
Hunfield, J. A. M. , Wladimiroff, J. W., Passchier, J., Uniken Venema-van Uden, M., Frets, P. G., & Verhage, F. (1993). Emotional reactions in women in late pregnancy (24 weeks or longer) following the ultrasound diagnosis of a severe or lethal fetal malformation. Prenatal Diagnosis, 13, 603-612.
9.
Iles, S. , & Gath, D. (1993). Psychiatric outcome of termination of pregnancy for foetal abnormality. Psychological Medicine, 23, 407-413.
10.
Irving, L. G. (1992). The psychoanalytic conceptualisation of prenatal loss: A multidimensional model. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 1464-1472.
11.
Kohner, N. , & Henley, A. (1991). When a baby dies. The experience of late miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death. London: Pandora.
12.
Lang, A. , Gottlieb, L., & Amsel, R. (1996). Predictors of husbands’ and wives’ grief reactions following infant death: The role of marital intimacy. Death Studies, 20, 33-57.
13.
Lasker, J. N. , & Toedter, L. J. (1994). Satisfaction with hospital care and interventions after pregnancy loss. Death Studies, 18, 41-64.
14.
Mander, R. (1994). Loss and bereavement in child-bearing. London: Blackwell.
15.
Martin, T. L. , & Doka, K. (2000). Men don’t cry... women do: Transcending gender stereotypes of grief. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel.
16.
Murphy, F. A. (1998). The experience of early miscarriage from a male perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 7, 325-332.
17.
Peppers, L. G. , & Knapp, R. (1982). Motherhood and mourning. New York: Praeger.
18.
Rando, T. (1993). Treatment of complicated mourning. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
19.
Raphael-Leff, J. (1991). Psychological processes of childbearing. London: Chapman & Hall.
20.
Seller, M. , Ross, S., Barby, T., & Cowmeadow, P. (1993). Grief and mid-trimester fetal loss. Prenatal Diagnosis, 13, 341-348.
21.
Smith, J. A. (1996). Evolving issues for qualitative psychology. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of qualitative research methods, pp. 189-201. Leicester: BPS.
22.
Smith, J. A. , Jarman, M., & Osborn, M. (1999). Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis. In M. Murray & K. Chamberlain (Eds.), Qualitative health psychology: theories and methods (pp. 1-28). London: Sage.
23.
Thompson, N. (1997). Masculinity and loss. In D. Field, J. Hockey, & N. Small (Eds.), Death, gender and ethnicity, pp. 76-88. London: Routledge.
24.
White-van Mourik, M. , Connor, J., & Ferguson-Smith, M. A. (1990). Patient care before and after termination of pregnancy for neural tube defects. Prenatal Diagnosis, 10, 497-505.
25.
White-van Mourik, M. , Connor, J., & Ferguson-Smith, M. A. (1992). The psychosocial sequelae of a second-trimester termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality. Prenatal Diagnosis, 12, 189-204.
26.
Worden, J. W. (1991). Grief counselling and grief therapy. New York: Springer.