Background: Early pregnancy loss (EPL) occurs in 10%-15% of all pregnancies but remains an underrecognized and undertreated condition. In Canada, resources to support individuals and their partners facing EPL remain scarce despite a high burden of psychosocial sequelae. Digital health tools hold the potential to fill important gaps in reproductive healthcare.
Objectives: We sought to better understand the perspectives of individuals who experienced pregnancy loss and explore how digital health tools could offer support.
Design: We conducted a qualitative study with grounded theory methodology to address our objectives.
Methods: The study was conducted between September 2021 and April 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. Participants between 18 and 45 years of age who resided in Canada and experienced EPL up to 12 + 6 week gestation within the last 2 years were included. Enrolled participants who provided informed consent completed a single in-depth interview. Data were analyzed iteratively by two trained research team members with thematic techniques supported by NVivo software.
Results: Interviews were conducted with 14 participants who had experienced EPL. All participants identified as female and resided in Canada, with 28.6% (n = 4) between 26 and 30 years of age, and the remaining 71.4% (n = 10) between 31 and 40. Qualitative analysis identified three primary themes centered around participants' experiences of miscarriage, access to information and support for EPL in Canada, and desires and preferences for a digital miscarriage tool.
Conclusion: Miscarriage is an emotionally difficult experience for women and their loved ones, who often do not receive timely and compassionate care within the healthcare system. Participants were highly motivated to co-develop a digital intervention for EPL that is designed to fill gaps in care. The digital companion would assist individuals through their miscarriage journey by providing evidence-based and locally relevant medical information as well as avenues to access both professional and informal forms of psychosocial support.
Keywords: Spontaneous abortion; digital health; miscarriage; mobile health; pregnancy support; user-centered design.