Communal Load Sharing of Miscarriage Experiences: Thematic Analysis of Social Media Community Support

Miscarriage is a common experience, affecting 15% of recognized pregnancies, but societal ignorance and taboos often downplay the mental distress and personal impact following a miscarriage. Emerging stories on social media in which women express their miscarriage grief are breaking such taboos. Research in the area of online health communities is increasingly focused on studying how people share their health experiences on social media. However, a clear understanding on the social support involved in this type of sharing of health experiences is lacking.

This study explored the use of Instagram in sharing miscarriage experiences, guided by the following research question: How is social community support given to women who share their miscarriage experiences on social media? Considering that social media is increasingly used as a source of social support, in this study, we chose Instagram as the social media platform. The purpose of this research was to create a better understanding of how social media provides support in expressing personal miscarriage experiences and how people engage with such posts.

This study used a qualitative inductive research method in which a phenomenological strategy and thematic analysis were followed to create a comprehensive understanding of the social community support phenomenon. The dataset was established from a sample of 258 Instagram posts and 736 comments collected over a period of 6 months after initial posts and from 6 different women. These data were categorized and clustered through a thematic analysis.

Three themes were identified: (1) storytelling of emotional turmoil and grief after miscarriage, (2) sharing positivity amidst miscarriage grief, and (3) mentioning personal medical information about miscarriage. Theme 1 represents the emotional experience of women who have had a miscarriage. It encompasses the initial posts that included miscarriage storytelling that express deep grief and mental distress and the emotional impact on both the posters and the commenters. Theme 2 highlights the importance of finding moments of joy and positivity in the midst of mental distress and pain. The posts shared with the online community convey a sense of moving forward and a refusal to let grief become the defining aspect of one's life. Theme 3 focuses on sharing medical and practical advice. This theme includes posts and comments about medications, in vitro fertilization procedures, hospital experiences, and personal physical symptoms.

As an overarching theme for this social support phenomenon, we introduce the term communal load sharing to describe the therapeutic role of social media in helping women cope with miscarriage by providing a platform for sharing similar experiences, breaking social taboos, and fostering load sharing.