Social Inequalities in the Risk and Aftermath of Miscarriage (SOC-MISC)

One in four women experience a miscarriage. Loss of pregnancy may affect fertility intentions and lead to adverse mental and physical health. Yet, we know little about how social inequalities affect the risk of miscarriage; how miscarriages may exacerbate existing social inequalities in population health; or how context shapes these experiences.

One reason for this is poor quality of data, as miscarriages are often either underreported in surveys or only included in health registers if they require hospital care. Moreover, to date, sexual and reproductive health has often been ignored in life course epidemiology.

First comprehensive study of the patterns of social inequality in miscarriage and its outcomes

This study reaches this goal by assessing the patterns of miscarriage underreporting in surveys and administrative registers before obtaining its estimates. It will:

  1. Analyse underreporting patterns of miscarriage and develop methodologies to be used in further analyses to obtain more reliable results than before.
  2. Show how individual and family-level social inequalities affect miscarriage risk over the life course.
  3. Establish how mental and physical health consequences of miscarriage depend on one’s social background and may widen social inequalities in health.
  4. Uncover the role of national and sub-national context in social inequalities in miscarriage.

Unlike many previous studies based on small and outdated samples, it will use longitudinal population registers and large representative surveys in Finland, France and the UK that are exceptionally rich in miscarriage, socioeconomic, other reproductive and health data, and can be triangulated to obtain more reliable results.

The project will lead to a significantly better understanding of a common reproductive experience affecting mental and physical wellbeing, and can help policy makers improve reproductive and population health.

 

Miscarriages and Social Inequalities: From Experience to Quantitative Analysis (FISO)

In addition to analysing the quantitative data as described above, we conduct a qualitative study within the SOC-MISC project titled Miscarriages and Social Inequalities: From Experience to Quantitative Analysis (FISO). The data collection starts in early 2025 in France. This study will shed light on certain blind spots in the quantitative data analysis.

 

This qualitative study has four main objectives:

 

  1.  To understand respondents’ definition of miscarriage by analysing individual perceptions of what a miscarriage is depending on gestational age and the type of pregnancy (miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, induced abortion due to medical reasons etc.).
  2. To explore personal experiences, in particular within the healthcare system, and their effects on mental health as well as on one’s willingness to report the event in an epidemiological survey.
  3. To identify miscarriage stigma, which may affect willingness to report the event in a survey or to consult a health professional.
  4. To analyse the influence of context (socio-cultural, family, local area) to better understand the associated inequalities.

 

The study is conducted among those who have experienced a miscarriage within the last five years in France to examine the diversity in miscarriage experiences. We collect around 50 in-depth interviews aiming to provide a more nuanced understanding of misreporting of miscarriages in surveys, and shed light on the consequences of miscarriage on mental and  physical health, in particular in relation to their experiences within healthcare facilities.