From silence to support

how instagram is used to share miscarrige grief

PROJECT: research, technical university of delft
PROduct: Reserach paper in JMIR Publications 

CHALLENGE 

Having a miscarriage can be a deeply distressing experience and the emotional impact is often undermined due to social taboos. However, more women are breaking the silence by sharing their miscarriage grief on social media.

While research into how people share health experiences online is growing, we still don’t fully understand the kind support these women receive through their instagram posts. 

Our study aimed to explore the different forms of support that women both provide and receive when sharing their miscarriage grief on Instagram.
PROCESS
A total of 258 Instagram posts and 736 comments from six women who shared their miscarriage experience were qualitatively analysed. This data was  organized and grouped through a thematic analysis to better understand the social community support phenomenon.
OUTCOME 

Our study identified three overarching themes to describe the support phenomenon: 
  • Theme 1: storytelling of emotional turmoil and grief after miscarriage
  • Theme 2: sharing positivity amidst miscarriage grief
  • Theme 3: sharing personal medical information about miscarriage. 
Our paper also introduces the new term 'Communal Load Sharing' to describe this grief support provided through social media. 

The study was published in the journal JMIR publications on 27-06-2024
DOI: 10.2196/56680