It is well known that mothers begin to develop a bond with their children before they’re even born. Miscarriage can leave a woman devastated. Research has shown that this proves true for men as well, especially in cases of planned pregnancy.

Several researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recruited 83 heterosexual couples who’d experienced a miscarriage. Researchers followed these couples for a year, assessing the psychological and emotional effects of miscarriage on men versus women.

As many as two in five men experienced significant psychological distress immediately following a miscarriage, compared to just over half of women. This dropped after three months, when about 7 percent of men and 20 percent of women continued to experience grief and depressive symptoms.

Men’s grief leveled after the three-month mark, while women’s symptoms declined more slowly. By the end of the study, men and women experienced similar rates of depressive symptoms, at 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

“Although the psychological impact of miscarriage on men was less enduring when compared with that on women, a significant proportion of men demonstrated psychological distress after miscarriage,” authors of the study concluded.

Creating a solid support network can help couples cope with the pain of a lost pregnancy. Find support in Healia’s Pregnancy Loss Community, or see the study in the British Journal of Obstetrics&Gynecology.