Table 3.
Participant demographics in included studies (n=7, reported in 10 papers).
| Study ID, first author, year, country, Aim | Sample characteristics (reflecting language used in papers) |
|---|---|
1. Andalibi, 2021, USA – reported across 3 papers:
|
Sample overview: 17 LGBTQ+ people Relationship to loss: 14 “physically experienced pregnancy loss”, 3 “in an intimate partnership in which pregnancy loss occurred” Gender: 15 cisgender women, 1 transmasculine person, 1 non-binary person Sexual orientation: 3 lesbian, 1 bisexual, 5 Queer, 2 asexual, 6 multiple orientations Race/Ethnicity: Race: 13 White, 1 Black/African American, 1 Latinx, 1 multiple races/ethnicities, 1 human Ethnicity: 1 African American, 7 White, 2 American, 1 Jewish, 2 Latinx, 3 European, 1 multiple Country: All USA Age: Mean 34.4 yrs (SD 3.3) Relationship details: 16 married, 1 single Loss details -single losses reported - pregnancy loss (defined as an undesired loss of a pregnancy at any gestational age) in last 2 years - gestation at loss n/r Conception details: n/r Parity: n/r Other notes: Information on education, income, religion, geography, social media use available in papers |
| 2. Cacciatore 2011, USA (22). Aim: to explore child death in same-gendered-parent families; specifically ‘maternally bereaved lesbians’. |
Sample overview: 6 lesbian mothers Relationship to loss: Not specified – describes as maternally bereaved lesbians Gender: Language of women is used throughout, without any mention of cisgender/transgender Sexual orientation: All lesbian Race/Ethnicity: Ethnicity: 4 Caucasian, 1 Jewish, 1 Italian-Irish, 1 European-Canadian Country: USA Age: 3 aged 36-45, 3 aged 46-55 Relationship details: 4 partnered (including 1 married in Canada), 2 single Loss details - 5 “of the children had died during the perinatal period or birth”, 1 had died in adulthood; describes “all the deaths were traumatic and unexpected” -details of any earlier losses n/r -time since loss n/r Conception details: - n/r Parity: - inclusive of losses, 2 had 1 child, 3 had 2 children, 2 had 3 children; 2 had no living children at the time of participation Other notes: Information on religion and socioeconomic demographics available in paper |
| 3. Peel, 2010, UK, USA, Canada and Australia (23). Aim: to explore lesbian and bisexual women’s experiences of miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death. |
Sample overview: 60 women Relationship to loss: 78% had “physically experienced their loss(es) (i.e. carried the pregnancy)” (also referred to as “birth mothers”), 22% “had experienced loss as the social mother (i.e. the partner of the women who had carried the pregnancy)” Gender: Language of women is used throughout, without any mention of cisgender/transgender Sexual orientation: All described as non-heterosexual; 76.6% were lesbian, 15% bisexual, 8.3% ‘other’ Race/Ethnicity: 92% white (further details n/r) Country: 43.3% UK, 28.3% USA, 18.3% Canada, 10.0% Australia Age: Mean 35, range 22–55 years Relationship details: 82% in relationship with a woman, 8% single, 5% in polyamorous relationships, 3% married to a man, 1 in a relationship with a trans man. (Note: this is current relationship; 90% were in same relationship at time of loss) Loss details: - one-third had experienced multiple losses - majority early miscarriage, some late miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death - majority experienced most recent loss occurred in past 5 years (83%), including 45% of sample in past year Conception details: - all except one were planned pregnancies - 84% conceived using donor sperm (majority at a clinic, some at home, minority via IVF); 14% via sexual intercourse with male partner, 2% via sexual intercourse with a man who was not their partner - conceived within 1 month-10 years of trying (mean 9.2 months, SD n/r) Parity: -unclear: reports that 55% had children, with mean age 4.5 years (range 4 days-17 years); also reports number of losses Other notes: Information on social class and disability available in paper |
| 4. Riggs, 2020, Australia, USA and European Union (24). Aim: to explore experiences of pregnancy loss among a sample of men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people who had undertaken a pregnancy |
Sample overview: 16 men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people Relationship to loss: All had experienced pregnancy loss, “having undertaken at least one pregnancy following a gender transition” Gender: Collectively described as men, trans/masculine and non-binary; multiple genders listed; most used he/him or they/them pronouns Sexual orientation: Range of sexual orientations (e.g. bisexual, fluid, gay, human-sexual, pansexual, queer), including multiple stated; 2 n/r; 0 stated heterosexual Race/Ethnicity: n/r Country: 3 Australia, 8 European Union (including UK), 5 US Age: Mean 35, range 23-49 Relationship details: 2 single/no partner, 1 casual partners, 13 in a relationship (including 1 now separated; 4 with cisgender woman, 6 with cisgender man, 3 with transgender man) Loss details -10 had one pregnancy loss, 6 had multiple - Gestational age at loss ranged from 3–23 weeks; authors described as 19 early term losses (12 weeks or less) and 5 late term losses. -Time since loss n/r Conception details: - n/r Parity: Separate to the pregnancy losses, 13 had live births (range 1-4) and the remaining 3 were pregnant at time of interview Other notes: Taken from a wider trans masculine pregnancy project involving 51 participants; 16 of whom had experienced loss |
| 5. Rose, 2022, 2023, Australia and England – reported across 2 papers: a. Rose & Oxlad, 2022 (25). Aim: to explore how the context in the lead up to loss was important for LGBTQ+ people when pregnancy loss occurred b. Rose & Oxlad, 2023 (26). Aim: to explore LGBTQ+ people’s workplace leave and support experiences following pregnancy losses as gestational or non-gestational parents |
Sample overview: 14 LGBTQ+ people Relationship to loss: - 5 experienced pregnancy loss as gestational parents (only) - 4 experienced pregnancy loss as both gestational parents and as non-gestational parents (where a partner was pregnant) -5 cisgender men experienced pregnancy loss as non-gestational parents in context of surrogacy Gender: 8 cisgender women, 5 cisgender men, and 1 trans non-binary person; although eligible, 0 intersex or asexual people took part Sexual orientation: Reported as a range represented within LGBTQ+; 11 were in a same-gender relationship at the time of loss Race/Ethnicity/’Cultural diversity’: -includes 2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, 1 Greek-Australian (thesis reports remainder of cultural identities as: 2 n/r, 1 Irish, 1 4th generation Australian, 1 English, 1 Anglo-Australian, 2 Anglo-Celtic, 3 White; with the 2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-describing as Caucasian/Indigenous and Aboriginal-mixed) -2 had partners for whom English was a 2nd language Country: Australia (12) and England (2) Age: 30–60 years (mean 40) Relationship details: All in long-term relationships Loss details - 2 experienced 1 pregnancy loss; 12 experienced multiple (2–5) - details on gestational age at loss n/r; includes “ectopic pregnancies, miscarriage, medically induced termination and stillbirth” -notes that some also experienced “other reproductive losses, including unsuccessful egg insemination or embryo transfers” - time since loss: 8m-10years (mean 3.78yrs, SD 2.59) Conception details: - n/r Parity: - 6 caring for living children at the time of interview (details n/r; thesis reports 8 have living children) Other notes: Paper 5b is limited to a subset of the 12 participants residing in Australia. Information on surrogacy details available in papers. Further sample details available in thesis (including religion). |
| 6. Røseth, 2023, Denmark and Norway (27). Aim: to explore how Danish and Norwegian lesbian couples bereaved of a child in the perinatal period experience the loss, and to examine the maternity care offered |
Sample overview: 6 lesbian couples Relationship to loss: 6 birth mothers/biological mothers and 6 non-birth mothers/co-mothers Gender: Language of women is used throughout, without any mention of cisgender/transgender Sexual orientation: All lesbian Race/Ethnicity: n/r Country: 4 couples Danish nationality and living in Denmark, 2 couples Norwegian nationality and living in Norway Age: 29–42 years Relationship details: “Living in a relationship with another woman when they lost their baby” Loss details - gestation at loss 21–40 weeks (eligibility was “late pregnancy or the first few days after birth” and some included birthing a baby who “had already died or risked dying”) - losses occurred within last 3 years Conception details: - n/r Parity: - n/r Other notes: None |
| 7. Wojnar, 2007, USA and Canada (28). Aim: explore miscarriage amongst lesbian couples |
Sample overview: 10 lesbian couples Relationship to loss: 10 ‘birth mothers’(“the partner who conceived and miscarried pregnancy”) and 10 ‘social mothers’ (“the birth mother’s female partner”) Gender: Language of women is used throughout, without any mention of cisgender/transgender Sexual orientation: All lesbian Race/Ethnicity: All white Country: USA and Canada Age: 30-45 (birth mothers: mean 37.6, SD 4.19, range 30-42; social mothers: mean 38.0, SD 4.60, range 31-45) Relationship details: In ‘committed’ relationship (at time of loss and still in that relationship) Loss details - 1–4 miscarriages - gestation at loss 5–20 weeks, mean 11.0 weeks, SD 4.34 -losses occurred 1 week-2 years prior to study enrolment, mean 11.6 weeks, SD 4.25 Conception details: - 5 used ‘alternative insemination’ with known donor, 5 used unknown donor; n/r whether clinic or home Parity: - 0–3 living children: previous to loss, 5 birth mothers had given birth,0 social mothers had given birth Other notes: Information on education and employment available in paper |
Language used in the sample characteristics reflects the language used in the papers (e.g. use of people, parent, mother).