Organizational Support After Early Pregnancy Loss: The Importance of Training and Awareness Development

Abstract

The Problem

Miscarriage is an under-discussed topic in organizations. Many organizations in the United States do not offer organizational support for individuals who experience miscarriage. Not having organizational support may make an individual’s experience of healing more challenging, impacting their professional and career development.

The Solution

Organizations can combat some of the challenges around pregnancy loss by implementing training & development and awareness development initiatives to educate around this topic and provide support for individuals who may be impacted.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders in this issue include HRD practitioners, managers and organizations that are committed to leveraging training & development initiatives to support employees and alleviating the organizational challenges surrounding the multiple journeys of working parenthood, including miscarriage.

Keywords

miscarriage early pregnancy loss grief literacy awareness development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Addati

Cattaneo

Pozzan

(2022). Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender equal world of work. International Labour Organization. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_838653.pdf

Adhia

Gelaye

Friedman

L.E

Marlow

L.Y.

Mercy

J.A.

Williams

M.A

(2019). Workplace interventions for intimate partner violence: A systemic review. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 34(3), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2019.1609361

Alves

Jenkins

Rapp

(2023). Early pregnancy loss (spontaneous abortion). NIH National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560521/

Andalibi

(2020). Disclosure, privacy, and stigma on social media: Examining non-disclosure of distressing experiences. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 27(3), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1145/3386600

Bellhouse

Temple-Smith

Bilardi

(2018). “It’s just one of those things people don’t seem to talk about.” women’s experiences of social support following miscarriage: A qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1), 176. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0672-3, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6206670/

Bilardi

Bellhouse

Temple-Smith

Watson

(2017). Women’s need for increased awareness and acknowledgment of the grief and loss associated with miscarriage. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14(Supplement_4b), E296–E297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.04.426

Bologna

(2022, February 4). Why isn’t paid leave after miscarriage more common? Huffington Post. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paid-leave-miscarriage_l_61f01f30e4b067cbfa147dcf

Brown

(2018). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House.

Collins

J. C.

(2011). Strategy of career interventions for battered women. Human Resource Development Review, 10(3), 246–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484311408691

10.

Collins

J. C.

Zhang

Sisco

(2021). Everyone is invited: Leveraging bystander intervention and ally development to cultivate social justice in the workplace. Human Resource Development Review, 20(4), 486–511. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843211040734

11.

Correll

S. J.

Benard

Paik

(2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297–1339. https://doi.org/10.1086/511799

12.

DeMontigny

Verdon

Meunier

Dubeau

(2017). Women’s persistent depressive and perinatal grief symptoms following a miscarriage: The role of childlessness and satisfaction with healthcare services. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 20(5), 655–662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0742-9

13.

Dewhurst

Turner

Barrett

Wakefield

Hanratty

(2023). 10 bereavement training in the workplace, can it help bridge the grief support gap? A qualitative evaluation of employers’ and employees’ views. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 13(Suppl 3), A4. https://doi.org/10.1136/spcare-2023-PCC.10

14.

Donlan

(2023, June 6). Infertility, miscarriage, and the workplace: Why sick time isn’t enough and how companies can fix it. Strong DM Blog. https://www.strongdm.com/blog/infertility-miscarriage-and-the-workplace

15.

Dugas

Slane

(2022). Miscarriage. National Institute of Health: National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532992/

16.

Dybis

(2019). The social media miscarriage. Glamour. https://www.glamour.com/story/the-social-media-miscarriage

17.

Fairchild

Arrington

(2023). Narrating and navigating through miscarriage, stigma, and identity changes. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 28(3), 252–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2022.2079593

18.

Farren

Jalmbrant

Falconieri

Mitchell-Jones

Bobdiwala

Al-Memar

Tapp

Van Calster

Wynants

Timmerman

Bourne

(2020). Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: A multicenter, prospective, cohort study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 222(4), 367.e1–367.e22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102

19.

Foucault

(1978). The history of sexuality (First American Edition ed.). Pantheon Books.

20.

Gatenby

Humphries

(1999). Exploring gender, management education and careers: Speaking in the silences. Gender and Education, 11(3), 281–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540259920582

21.

Gatrell

Cooper

Kossek

(2017). Maternal bodies as taboo at work: New perspectives on the marginalizing of senior-level women in organizations. Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(3), 239–252. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2014.0034

22.

Gatto

(2020). Parenthood demands: Resisting a dystopia in the workplace. Human Resource Development International, 23(5), 569–585. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1735832

23.

Georgetown University School of Nursing . (2020). Emotional healing after a miscarriage: A guide for women, partners, family, and friends. Georgetown University School of Nursing. https://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/blog/emotional-healing-after-miscarriage-guide-women-partners-family-friends/

24.

Gloor

J. L.

Lim

Feierabend

(2018). An inconvenient truth? Interpersonal and career consequences of “maybe baby” expectations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104(5), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.10.001

25.

Goldman

(2023). Democratic lawmakers push paid leave for pregnancy loss. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/10/26/paid-leave-pregnancy-loss-congress

26.

Griffiths

(2021). Invisible people: A story of fertility treatment and loss during the pandemic. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(S2), 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12665

27.

Haller

B. A.

(2017). Social media reinvigorates disability rights activism globally. In The routledge companion to media and human rights (pp. 300–308). Routledge.

28.

Hazen

(2003). Societal and workplace responses to perinatal loss: Disenfranchised grief or healing connection. Human Relations, 56(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726703056002889

29.

Hobson

(2015). People have misconceptions about miscarriage, and that can hurt. NPR News. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/05/08/404913568/people-have-misconceptions-about-miscarriage-and-that-hurts

30.

Hodgson

(2002). Beyond work-family balance: Advancing gender equity and workplace performance. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(5), 293. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2002.23.5.293.1

31.

Johnson

H. H.

(2008). Mental models and transformative learning: The key to leadership development? Human Resource Development Quarterly, 19(1), 85–89. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.1227

32.

Keep

Payne

Carland

J. E.

(2021). Experiences of Australian women on returning to work after miscarriage. Community, Work & Family, 26(2), 258–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2021.1993140

33.

Kormanik

M. B.

(2008). The stalled career: Addressing an organizational undiscussable. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422307310112

34.

Kormanik

M. B.

(2011). Workplace violence: Assessing organizational awareness and planning interventions. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13(1), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422311410658

35.

Kuchinke

K. P.

(2011). Human flourishing as a core value for HRD in an age of global mobility. In Lee

M. M.

(Ed.), HRD as we know it: Speeches that have shaped and developed the field of HRD (pp. 292–305). Routlege.

36.

Layne

(2001). In search of community: Tales of pregnancy loss in three toxically assaulted U.S. communities. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 29(1/2), 25–50. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40004607

37.

Lobell

K. O.

(2022). Companies are changing bereavement policies in response to employee needs. Society for Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/companies-are-changing-bereavement-policies-in-response-to-employee-needs.aspx

38.

Lundgren

Wahlberg

(1999). The experience of pregnancy: A hermeneutical/phenomenological study. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 8(3), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1624/105812499X87196

39.

Mabus

(2021, August 5). Pregnancy loss is common and traumatic. New legislation says employees need time off to heal. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/05/paid-time-off-pregnancy-loss-part-support-through-loss-act/5468347001/

40.

Maitlis

Petriglieri

(2019). Going back to work after a pregnancy loss. Harvard Business Review.

41.

March of Dimes . (2023, February). Miscarriage. March of Dimes. https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/miscarriage-loss-grief/miscarriage#:∼:text=Forwomenwhoknowthey,12thweekofpregnancy

42.

Martin

(1990). Deconstructing organizational taboos: The suppression of gender conflict in organizations. Organization Science, 1(4), 339-359. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.4.339, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2634968

43.

Mayo Clinic . (2023, September 8). Miscarriage. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pregnancy-loss-miscarriage/symptoms-causes/syc-20354298

44.

McGee

PettyJohn

M. E.

Gallus

K. L.

(2018). Ambiguous loss: A phenomenological exploration of women seeking support following miscarriage. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 23(6), 516–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2018.1484625

45.

McGuinness

(2009). Grief in the workplace. Bereavement Care, 28(1), 2–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02682620902746037

46.

Meda

(2020). What I wish women and their support systems knew about miscarriage. Jefferson Health. https://www.jeffersonhealth.org/your-health/living-well/what-i-wish-women-and-their-support-systems-knew-about-miscarriage

47.

Mergl

Quaatz

Edeler

Allgaier

(2022). Grief in women with previous miscarriage or stillbirth: A systematic review of cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective studies. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 13(2), Article 2108578. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2022.2108578

48.

Meunier

de Montigny

Zeghiche

Lalande

Verdon

Da Costa

Feeley

(2021). Workplace experience of parents coping with perinatal loss: A scoping review. Work, 69(2), 411–421. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213487

49.

Milliken

F. J.

Kneeland

M. K.

Flynn

(2020). Implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic for gender equity issues at work. Journal of Management Studies, 57(8), 1767–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12628

50.

Neucom

Z. A.

Prandl

K. J.

(2022). Exploring Western Australian women’s experiences of sharing positive birth stories. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 22(1), 978. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-05226-5

51.

Obst

K. L.

Due

Oxlad

Middleton

(2022). Australian men’s experiences of leave provisions and workplace support following pregnancy loss or neonatal death. Community, Work & Family, 25(4), 551–562. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2020.1823319

52.

O Grada

Ni Laoire

Linehan

Boylan

Connolly

(2015). Naming the parts: A case-study of a gender equality initiative with academic women. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(5), 358–378. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-09-2013-0118

53.

Paustian-Underdahl

Eaton

Mandeville

Little

(2019). Pushed out or opting out? Integrating perspectives on gender differences in withdrawal attitudes during pregnancy. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(8), 985–1002. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000394

54.

Porschitz

Siler

(2017). Miscarriage in the workplace: An autoethnography. Gender, Work & Organization, 24(6), 565–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12181

55.

Procknow

Rocco

T. S.

Munn

S. L.

(2017). (Dis)Ableing notions of authentic leadership through the lens of critical disability theory. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 19(4), 362–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422317728732

56.

Rocco

Shuck

(2020). Death and dying: Grief, compassion and workplace responses. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 32(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha3.20268

57.

Rose

Oxlad

(2023). LGBTQ+ peoples’ experiences of workplace leave and support following pregnancy loss. Community, Work & Family, 26(2), 268–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2021.2020727

58.

Schoonover

Yadav

Prokop

Lapid

(2023). Accommodating bereaved parents in the workplace: A scoping review. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 28(4), 348–363. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2022.2122221

59.

Shuck

Alagaraja

Immekus

Cumberland

Honeycutt‐Elliott

(2019). Does compassion matter in leadership? A two‐stage sequential equal status mixed method exploratory study of compassionate leader behavior and connections to performance in human resource development. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 30(4), 537–564. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21369

60.

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health . (c2023). Overview of pregnancy loss. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=overview-of-pregnancy-loss-90-P02466

61.

Toffol

Koponen

Partonen

(2013). Miscarriage and mental health: Results of two population-based studies. Psychiatry Research, 205(1–2), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2012.08.029

62.

Valencia

(April 10, 2023). Parents who suffer pregnancy loss should get bereavement leave. Parents. https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/complications/miscarriage/im-a-grief-therapist-this-is-how-i-help-patients-grieve-their-miscarriage/

63.

Venkatesan

Murali

(2021). “It just went wrong, as bodies are prone to do”: Graphic medicine and the trauma of miscarriage. The Journal of Medical Humanities, 42(4), 763–775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09666-y

64.

Vivona

(2011). Traumatic death in the workplace: Why should human resource development care? Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13(1), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422311410654

65.

Wickramatilake

(2021, October 26). New federal legislation would offer paid leave after pregnancy loss. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. https://www.2020mom.org/blog/2021/10/26/new-federal-legislation-would-offer-paid-leave-after-pregnancy-loss

66.

Wilson

(2023, October 11). California gives workers 5 days of miscarriage leave. Human Resources Director. https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/employment-law/california-gives-workers-5-days-of-miscarriage-leave/462739

67.

Zhao

Settles

B. H.

Sheng

(2011). Family-to-work conflict: Gender, equity and workplace policies. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 42(5), 723–738. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.42.5.723

68.

Zucker

(2021). I had a miscarriage: A memoir, a movement. The Feminist Press.