It has been found in a survey of over 1,000 US adults that there are misconceptions regarding miscarriage and the reasons behind that are common. According to results of the survey, people usually feel guilty and ashamed after a miscarriage and majority of people mistakenly think that miscarriages are not common.

Each year, approximately one million miscarriages occur in the US. One in every four pregnancies suffers miscarriage and this is the most common complication linked with pregnancy. Still it was found in the Einstein/Montefiore survey that miscarriages are 'uncommon'.

According to Zev Williams, MD, Ph. D., director of the Program for Early and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (PEARL) at Einstein and Montefiore, "Miscarriage is a traditionally taboo subject that is rarely discussed publicly. We initiated this survey to assess what the general public knew about miscarriage and its causes and how miscarriage affects them emotionally". Williams also serves as assistant professor of obstetrics&gynecology and women's health, and of genetics, at Einstein.

A 33-item survey was devised by Williams and colleagues; with help of it, they analyzed perceptions of miscarriage. Researchers directed 10 items particularly to men or women, who reported a history of miscarriage. Using Amazon. com's Mechanical Turk web service, the survey was posted online.

It was found that out of the 1,084 valid survey responses gathered in 2013, 45% were from men and 55% from women. It was reported by 15% that they or their partner had experienced a miscarriage. In general, participants represented 2010 national census statistics regarding age, gender, religion, geographic location and household income.

The study will be published in 'Public Perceptions of Miscarriage: A National Survey' in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.