Research-based practice with women who have had miscarriages.

PURPOSE: To summarize a research-based description of what it is like to miscarry and to recommend an empirically tested theory of caring for women who have experienced miscarriage.
DESIGN: The research program included three phases: interpretive theory generation, descriptive survey and instrument development, and experimental testing of a theory-based intervention.
METHODS: Research methods included interpretive phenomenology, factor analysis, and ANCOVA.
FINDINGS: A theory of caring and a model of what it is like to miscarry were generated, refined, and tested. A case study shows one woman's response to miscarrying and illustrates clinical application of the caring theory.
CONCLUSIONS: The Miscarriage Model is a useful framework for anticipating the variety of responses women have to miscarrying. The caring theory is an effective and sensitive guide to clinical practice with women who miscarry.