Editing Miscarriage (section)

==Society and culture==
Society's reactions to miscarriage have changed over time.<ref name=":0" /> In the early 20th century, the focus was on the mother's physical health and the difficulties and disabilities that miscarriage could produce.<ref name=":0" /> Other reactions, such as the expense of medical treatments and relief at ending an unwanted pregnancy, were also heard.<ref name=":0" /> In the 1940s and 1950s, people were more likely to express relief, not because the miscarriage ended an unwanted or mistimed pregnancy, but because people believed that miscarriages were primarily caused by birth defects, and miscarrying meant that the family would not raise a child with disabilities.<ref name=":0" /> The dominant attitude in the mid-century was that a miscarriage, although temporarily distressing, was a blessing in disguise for the family and that another pregnancy and a healthier baby would soon follow, especially if women trusted physicians and reduced their anxieties.<ref name=":0" /> Media articles were illustrated with pictures of babies, and magazine articles about miscarriage ended by introducing the healthy baby—usually a boy—that shortly followed it.<ref name=":0" />

Beginning in the 1980s, miscarriage in the US was primarily framed in terms of the individual woman's emotional reaction, especially her grief over a tragic outcome.<ref name=":0" /> The subject was portrayed in the media with images of an empty crib or an isolated, grieving woman, and stories about miscarriage were published in general-interest media outlets, not just [[women's magazines]] or health magazines.<ref name=":0" /> Family members were encouraged to grieve, to memorialize their losses through funerals and other rituals, and to think of themselves as being parents.<ref name=":0" /> This shift to recognizing these emotional responses was partly due to medical and political successes, which created an expectation that pregnancies are typically planned and safe, and to women's demands that their emotional reactions no longer be dismissed by the medical establishments.<ref name=":0" /> It also reinforces the [[anti-abortion]] movement's belief that human life begins at conception or early in pregnancy, and that [[Pronatalism|motherhood is a desirable life goal]].<ref name=":0" /> The modern one-size-fits-all model of grief does not fit every woman's experience, and an expectation to [[Performativity|perform]] grief creates unnecessary burdens for some women.<ref name=":0" /> The reframing of miscarriage as a private emotional experience brought less awareness of miscarriage and a sense of silence around the subject, especially compared to the public discussion of miscarriage during campaigns for access to birth control during the early 20th century, or the public campaigns to prevent miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant deaths by reducing industrial pollution during the 1970s.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thecut.com/2018/04/the-history-of-talking-about-miscarriage.html|title=The History of Talking About Miscarriage|last=Blei|first=Daniela |work=The Cut|access-date=2018-04-26}}</ref>

In places where induced abortion is illegal or carries a social stigma, suspicion may surround miscarriage, complicating an already sensitive issue.

Developments in ultrasound technology (in the early 1980s) allowed them to identify earlier miscarriages.<ref name="pmid23429567" />

=== Legal registration ===
Miscarriages may be tracked for purposes of health statistics, but they are not usually recorded individually.  For example, under UK law, all [[stillbirths]] should be registered,<ref>{{cite web |title=Register a stillbirth – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/register-stillbirth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905051919/https://www.gov.uk/register-stillbirth |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |website=www.gov.uk |df=mdy-all}}</ref> although this does not apply to miscarriages.  According to French statutes, an infant born before the age of viability, determined to be 28 weeks, is not registered as a 'child'. If birth occurs after this, the infant is granted a certificate that allows the parents to have a symbolic record of that child. This certificate can include a registered and given name to allow a funeral and acknowledgement of the event.<ref>Communiqué de presse de [[Rachida Dati]], Garde des Sceaux, ministre de la Justice et de [[Roselyne Bachelot|Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin]], ministre de la Santé, de la Jeunesse, des Sports et de la Vie associative, « Possibilité de demande d'un acte d'enfant sans vie », 22 août 2008, [http://www.sante.gouv.fr/possibilite-de-demande-d-un-acte-d-enfant-sans-vie.html lire en ligne] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419184246/http://www.sante.gouv.fr/possibilite-de-demande-d-un-acte-d-enfant-sans-vie.html |date=April 19, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.service-public.fr/|title=Accueil Particuliers {{!}} service-public.fr|website=www.service-public.fr|language=fr|access-date=2017-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Décret n°74-449 du 15 mai 1974 relatif au livret de famille et à l'information des futurs époux sur le droit de la famille – Article 9|date=15 May 1974|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006285245&cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000328986|access-date=2017-11-04}}</ref>