Question for Catholic Business Owners and Managers - Miscarriage

[Richard_Powers]

If life begins at conception, do you give the same bereavement time for a miscarriage as you do for the loss of a child already born? (Why or why not)

 

[dianeeh]

I’m not a business owner or manager, but I have had a miscarriage. People handle grief in different ways. A miscarriage is like losing a dream of what might have been. Someone you’ve never met, but you loved just the same. There is a loss, definitely. But it’s a little different than someone you know and love already, like a newborn baby’s face you’ve brushed your cheek next to, if that makes any sense. Miscarriages do not always take the same amount of physical recovery, depending on how early it was. Mine was at 7 and a half weeks and only developed to four weeks size. I went to the ER for it to be checked out to make sure it was all coming out to avoid infections, and if I had had work that night, I would have called out. I did grieve, but I didn’t call out of work the next day because I needed the distraction.

I think employers, Catholic or otherwise, should be sensitive to an employee’s emotional health, and if a week is normally offered for a child’s, parent’s or sibling’s death, then it should also be offered for a miscarriage, especially if they are planning on a memorial service and everything. Not that they have an estate to organize like they might in one of the other situations, but if the employee is a wreck and bawling, they won’t be able to work effectively.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

As dianeeh says, one needs to be sensitive to the needs of the employee rather than following a fixed formula.

 

[hasikelee]

If life begins at conception, do you give the same bereavement time for a miscarriage as you do for the loss of a child already born? (Why or why not)

The company I work for defines the loss of a child as anytime during development, before and after pregnancy. This means miscarriage would qualify for the same amount of bereavement as the loss of other family members or relatives.

If the loss of a child is during pregnancy, a doctor’s note must be given showing the woman was pregnant.