Experience of Pregnancy Loss Among Maternal Nurses and Midwives: A Phenomenological Study.

Abstract

Aim: This study explored the lived experience of pregnancy loss among maternal nurses and midwives in Jordan, with attention to how loss shaped work, grief, and decisions about future pregnancy within the Jordanian cultural and religious context.

Design: Descriptive phenomenological qualitative study.

Methods: Twenty maternal nurses and midwives who had experienced pregnancy loss participated in individual semi-structured interviews conducted in private locations selected by participants. Snowball sampling was used. Interviews lasted 45-60 min, were audio-recorded with participants' consent, transcribed, and coded manually by the research team using Colaizzi's seven-step descriptive phenomenological method. Two researchers coded the data independently before discussing and agreeing on themes.

Results: Participants were 26-55 years old, 17 of 20 had more than 10 years of nursing experience, 17 of 20 worked in health centers, and 18 of 20 had children. Four interpretive themes were developed: loss without warning; embodied loss: inseparable physical and psychological suffering; grieving while caregiving: negotiating work, disclosure, and peer support; and trying again with fear.

Conclusion: Pregnancy loss among maternal nurses and midwives in Jordan produced physical, emotional, occupational, and culturally situated consequences. The study contributes evidence that clinicians who provide maternity care may return to the same clinical spaces that mirror their loss, making workplace flexibility, trusted peer support, and culturally sensitive acknowledgment of grief especially important.

Public contribution: No patient or public contribution.