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Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss
Published in Rosa Maria Quatraro, Pietro Grussu, Handbook of Perinatal Clinical Psychology, 2020
Natalène Séjourné, Nelly Goutaudier
Generally, perinatal bereavement is well recognized and is related to the bereavement of a loved one. According to Bowlby (1984), despite the recent bond between parents and the baby, the pattern of reactions is quite similar to the one developed by individuals who have lost a spouse. Nevertheless, it was not until the 1980s that miscarriage was considered as a source of bereavement and that its effects were studied in terms of grief, anxiety, depression, stress, shame, and guilt (Frost, Bradley, Levitas, Smith, & Garcia, 2007). Indeed, the suffering experienced after an early perinatal loss suggests bereavement related to fetal (Dayan, 1999; Thomas, 1995) or a neonatal death (Leppert & Pahlka, 1984; Stirtzinger, Robinson, Stewart, & Ralevski, 1999).
Miscarriage and Stillbirth
Published in Allison Rosen, Jay Rosen, Frozen Dreams, 2015
While many expressions of grief or loss are universal, there are unique aspects to perinatal bereavement that complicate the mourning process. Most significant is the prospective nature of perinatal grief, where mourning occurs for the hopes, wishes, and fantasies of the future, for a baby known in the parents’ dreams. When memories of a life are primarily imagined, grief takes on a new dimension—the ineffable pain of not ever knowing. It may be a couple’s first experience with death and is different from other losses in which grief is retrospective: that is, real memories and experiences are mourned and shared by others. Also, the narcissistic nature of the loss affects feelings of grief, mothers often experiencing intense guilt, shame, envy, rage, and self-blame.
Social work intervention for women experiencing early pregnancy loss in the emergency department
Published in Social Work in Health Care, 2019
Ashley D. Palmer, Jodie Murphy-Oikonen
Pregnancy loss has been described as an ambiguous loss (Caccitore, DeFrain & Jones, 2008; Lang et al., 2011), wherein the “ambiguity contributes an additional layer of stress and suffering to the bereaved” (Lang et al., 2011, p. 190). Boss (2007) proposed the theory of ambiguous loss to describe a loss that lacks clarity, finality and closure, thereby hindering the grief process and stalling a healthy resolution. In a study of couples experiencing perinatal bereavement, Lang et al. (2011) found that sources of ambiguity included the viability of the pregnancy, the physical process of losing a pregnancy, arrangements of the remains, and sharing the news of the loss. Each of these sources of ambiguity impacted the level of distress experienced by women experiencing EPL.