CEOs and business leaders are urged to join the campaign in recognising pregnancy loss as a workplace reality

An interaction with women employees brought up the issue of miscarriages and the silence around it, says Quest Global co-founder and Chief Executive Ajit Prabhu, following which the company not only initiated conversations on this internally, but also intends to reach out to other corporates on the same.

“Nearly 78 million women fear job loss or negative career consequences if they disclose a miscarriage, while 80 million remain silent due to fear of judgment. Additionally, 70 million Indian women would consider leaving their jobs if their employers did not provide support following pregnancy loss. Three in four women report that pregnancy loss reduces their confidence, which in turn impacts performance while they remain silent,” according to a study done by YouGov, commissioned by Quest, an engineering solutions company.

Responding to the link between the engineering company and the campaign they are running to “break the silence” around miscarriages, Prabhu told businessline, the idea was an off-shoot from a conversation with women employees at their Hyderabad site, about six months ago. Besides, he added, it was part of a three-pronged strategy to client issues, employees and stakeholder issues affecting communities.

Cost of silence

Other companies on board this campaign include Bharat Serum, Amara Raja and Sterlite Technologies and Kone, besides the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. “For too long, pregnancy loss has remained invisible in the workplace, leaving many women to navigate grief in silence while continuing to perform. Our research shows that the cost of silence is significant and measurable: in productivity, confidence, retention and careers. This is not simply a well-being issue; it is also a workforce issue,” said Prabhu, calling on CEOs and business leaders to join the campaign in recognising pregnancy loss as a workplace reality.

Quest has partnered with YourDOST to launch a support ecosystem, including a 24-hour helpline with psychologists specifically trained in pregnancy loss to offer confidential, expert support, peer-to-peer support circles, training materials for HR professionals and managers to navigate sensitive conversations, among other things, the company said. The support services will be available to any organisation needing it at no cost, company official said.

The commissioned survey was done among 2,000 women and 200 men across India, between 25-39 years, covering respondents from STEM, technology, engineering and corporate sectors across junior, mid and senior management levels, along with male managers leading diverse teams, a note from Quest said.

Published on June 9, 2026