Nearly four in five women surveyed nationally said employers should give parents who lose a baby to miscarriage or stillbirth the same amount of paid leave offered after a birth, according to an October analysis of The Harris Poll's 2026 maternal health survey.
The poll also found gaps in the information respondents recalled receiving from health care providers and the support they wanted after a loss.
Among women in the Harris survey who had been pregnant, 36% said they wanted their provider to actively discuss counting fetal movements during prenatal appointments; 27% said they had received enough information or resources on that topic.
Support after a loss
Thirteen percent of surveyed women who had been pregnant said their pregnancy and birth experience would have been better if they had received support following a miscarriage or stillbirth. That denominator includes all ever-pregnant respondents, not just those who reported a loss. Harris reported 21% among mothers ages 18 to 44 and 8% among mothers 45 and older. It also reported 20% among Black mothers and 10% among White mothers. Estimates for those smaller groups have greater statistical uncertainty.
The survey was conducted online March 24-30 among 4,154 U.S. adults, including 2,327 women and 1,516 who were or had been pregnant. Harris reported a Bayesian credible interval of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points for the full sample at a 95% confidence level, with wider intervals for smaller groups.
Harris connected the findings to Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and called for clearer education and support from health care providers, employers and communities.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
