Miscarriage in the Workplace: an Authoethnography

Abstract

This paper is an extension of the literature on pregnancy and work, and it introduces miscarriage as an important topic of study in management. Miscarriage starts with a pregnancy, so a woman who has miscarried deals with many of the same workplace issues as women who carry to term. The experience of miscarriage, however, often leads to physical and emotional trauma and/or grief that many women hide from their co‐workers. In this paper we also explore how secrecy is an integral part of the miscarriage experience. The combination of secrecy and grief that is layered on top of a difficult physical experience makes miscarriage a unique experience that, to date, has mostly been ignored in management literature and practice. It is well documented that contemporary corporate structures have little room for addressing procreation, health and grief, it is perhaps unsurprising then that despite miscarriage being seen as a relatively common event it remains silenced.