title: A national survey on public perceptions of miscarriage.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess attitudes and perceptions of U.S. survey respondents regarding prevalence, causes, and emotional effects of miscarriage.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a questionnaire consisting of 33 questions administered in January of 2013 to men and women aged 18-69 years across the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants from 49 states completed the questionnaire: 45% male and 55% female (N=1,084). Fifteen percent reported they or their partner experienced at least one miscarriage. Fifty-five percent of respondents believed that miscarriage occurred in 5% or less of all pregnancies. Commonly believed causes of miscarriage included a stressful event (76%), lifting a heavy object (64%), previous use of an intrauterine device (28%), or oral contraceptives (22%). Of those who had a miscarriage, 37% felt they had lost a child, 47% felt guilty, 41% reported feeling that they had done something wrong, 41% felt alone, and 28% felt ashamed. Nineteen percent fewer people felt they had done something wrong when a cause for the miscarriage was found. Seventy-eight percent of all participants reported wanting to know the cause of their miscarriage, even if no intervention could have prevented it from occurring. Disclosures of miscarriages by public figures assuaged feelings of isolation for 28% of respondents. Level of education and gender had a significant effect on perceptions and understanding of miscarriage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Respondents to our survey erroneously believed that miscarriage is a rare complication of pregnancy, with the majority believing that it occurred in 5% or less of all pregnancies. There were also widespread misconceptions about causes of miscarriage. Those who had experienced a miscarriage frequently felt guilty, isolated, and alone. Identifying a potential cause of the miscarriage may have an effect on patients' psychological and emotional responses.
  
  
  METHODS
  II.
authors.affiliation: Program for Early and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (PEARL), Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York; the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; and the University of Sydney Medical School, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Jonah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bardos
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hercz
authors.forename: Jenna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Friedenthal
authors.forename: Stacey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Missmer
authors.forename: Zev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012752:Shame; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult