Women's Preferences in Early Pregnancy Loss Management: A Focus on Psychological Considerations Using the Analytic...

Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is associated with significant emotional burden. While multiple management options exist, psychological aspects are often underrepresented in decision-making support. The objective of this study is to identify criteria that are important to women when choosing between expectant, medical, and surgical management of EPL, with particular attention to psychological aspects.

A mixed-methods study using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was conducted. Criteria were identified via literature review and a focus group. Thirty-seven women with EPL history completed structured telephone interviews with pairwise comparisons. Quantitative data were analyzed to calculate criterion weights and assess consistency. Logistic regression explored factors associated with inconsistent responses.

Among 37 participants, 'Minimizing psychological distress' emerged as the most important criterion (local weight = 0.381), with sub-criteria such as 'Experiencing miscarriage as a natural process' (0.384; 0.252) and 'Avoiding hospital treatment' (0.355; 0.425) ranked most important for women preferring expectant and medical management, respectively. Women preferring surgical management prioritized 'Short time to miscarriage completion' (0.389). Sixty-five percent of participants demonstrated acceptable preference consistency (consistency ratio ≤ 0.2). Lower education showed the greatest and statistically significant negative influence on the consistency of the preferences in the regression models.

Preferences varied by treatment choice, indicating that psychological distress is defined differently across women. The AHP method enabled nuanced insights into individual decision-making. Emotional factors may influence preference patterns and should be considered in clinical counselling. These findings support the need for individualized counselling and shared decision-making. The results may inform the development of clinical tools and guidelines.