Factors associated with the grief after stillbirth: a comparative study between Brazilian and Canadian women

Maternal mental health, marital adjustment, and family support in the grieving process after a pregnancy loss

Pregnancy loss can have a profound impact on a woman's psychological and emotional health often leading to a grieving process. Furthermore, the loss of a child is a risk factor for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between mental health, marital adjustment, family support, gestational age, and prolonged grief. We recruited 93 women who had lost a pregnancy and had a living child born after the loss. Maternal mental health and gestational age at the time of loss were the variables most correlated with prolonged grief symptoms. A network model further confirmed the results and highlighted the importance of adopting a systemic and interactive approach to these and the other variables of interest related to pregnancy loss. Raising awareness regarding mental healthcare and support networks for mothers after pregnancy loss is essential.

Nursing care for parents who have experienced fetal demise: integrative review

OBJECTIVES

to identify scientific evidence regarding nursing care for parents who have experienced grief following fetal demise.

METHODS

an integrative review of original studies was conducted across six databases. The studies were classified according to the level of evidence.

RESULTS

the qualitative analysis of the nine studies comprising the sample involved thematic categories, exploring the impact of perinatal loss on families, inadequate communication by healthcare professionals, and the importance of a holistic approach in care. The role of the nurse is highlighted in making a positive contribution to the team, emphasizing participation in training and the provision of essential information.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

grieving affects not only family dynamics but also the social environment, emphasizing the urgency of a more empathetic and comprehensive approach. Care should be holistic, going beyond technical nursing assistance, and addressing the biopsychosocial context of the parents.

Lived Experience of the Dyad and Their Relationships Following a Fetal Death: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study

Little is known about the lived experience of the dyad following a fetal death and the impact on relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dyadic relationship between partners, with health care providers, and with the baby's memory after birth. This qualitative study utilized hermeneutic phenomenology. The sample included 10 heterosexual dyads from the United States and Canada. All experienced a fetal death between 6 months and 7 years prior to their interviews. The data revealed three themes: (a) The Dyad Relationship: Moving Through the Experience Together; (b) Keeping the Memory Alive: Memorializing the Baby; and (c) Relationships With Health Care Providers: A Spectrum of Caring. The findings from this study provide the beginning knowledge needed to improve the care of dyads who have experienced a fetal death and for future studies to improve care delivery for dyads as their relationships change after fetal death.

Adverse pregnancy outcome disclosure and women's social networks: a qualitative multi-country study with implications for improved reporting in surveys

Background

Globally, approximately 6,700 newborn deaths and 5,400 stillbirths occur daily. The true figure is likely higher, with under reporting of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) noted. Decision-making in health is influenced by various factors, including one’s social networks. We sought to understand APOs disclosure within social networks in Uganda, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and Bangladesh and how this could improve formal reporting of APOs in surveys. 

Methods

A qualitative, exploratory multi-country study was conducted within four health and demographic surveillance system sites. 16 focus group discussions were held with 147 women aged 15–49 years, who had participated in a recent household survey. Thematic analysis, with both deductive and inductive elements, using three pre-defined themes of Sender, Message and Receiver was done using NVivo software.

Results

Disclosure of APOs was a community concern, with news often shared with people around the bereaved for different reasons, including making sense of what happened and decision-making roles of receivers. Social networks responded with comfort, providing emotional, in-kind and financial support. Key decision makers included men, spiritual and traditional leaders. Non-disclosure was usually to avoid rumors in cases of induced abortions, or after a previous bad experience with health workers, who were frequently excluded from disclosure, except for instances where a woman sought advice on APOs.

Conclusions

Communities must understand why they should report APOs and to whom. Efforts to improve APOs reporting could be guided by diffusion of innovation theory, for instance for community entry and sensitization before the survey, since it highlights how information can be disseminated through community role models. In this case, these gatekeepers we identified could promote reporting of APOs. The stage at which a person is in decision-making, what kind of adopter they are and their take on the benefits and other attributes of reporting are important. In moving beyond survey reporting to getting better routine data, the theory would be applicable too. Health workers should demonstrate a more comforting and supportive response to APOs as the social networks do, which could encourage more bereaved women to inform them and seek care.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-022-04622-1.

Complicated Grief After the Loss of a Baby: A Systematic Review About Risk and Protective Factors for Bereaved Women

This study sought to identify the factors associated with the development and prevention of complicated grief in women who have lost a baby. This is a systematic review of scientific articles in the main mental health databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), and APA Databases (PsycINFO). The selection and data extraction processes occurred independently and blindly by two authors, considering the eligibility criteria. The analysis included publications from 2013 to 2021 of observational studies with adult women who had experienced losing a baby (during pregnancy up to 2 years of life) and that employed standardized instruments to evaluate grief. From the 8,200 records found, 23 articles were selected for analysis. As risk factors, we identified the presence of mother’s psychopathology, history of gestational loss, and social pressure for a new pregnancy, while as protective factors, we identified the presence of another child other than the deceased one, the quality of specialized healthcare, and the social support provided by either a partner, community, or spiritual activities. Furthermore, the studies pointed to the event of losing a baby as an opportunity for posttraumatic growth. Although complicated grief is often associated with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress, it is necessary to differentiate it for a clearer understanding of the complicated grief as a singular condition, to enable access to appropriate care for bereaved mothers and families, as well as to promote public policies which provide support to them.

The Experience of Chronic Sorrow among Indonesian Mothers Who have Suffered Recent Perinatal Loss

Background: Perinatal death results in physical loss of a child as well as symbolic loss (loss of self, hope and self-esteem) experienced by many parents. Loss is often expressed via a grief response that can develop into chronic sorrow. Ineffective coping strategies may increase susceptibility to complications associated with chronic sorrow. These complications can include clinical depression, dysthymic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attachment disorder, drug dependence, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the barriers and facilitators to chronic sorrow particularly among vulnerable populations.   Aim: To explore the experience of chronic sorrow among Indonesian women who have suffered perinatal loss.  Methods: The present qualitative study utilized a descriptive phenomenological approach. Participants included women who experienced chronic sorrow due to perinatal loss within the past seven weeks to three years. Maximum variation sampling was used based on women’s current number of children. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method.   Results: Three key themes emerged from the data: (1) recurrent experiences of grief are common particularly when exposed to certain triggers (memories from pregnancy, mementos); (2) adequate coping strategies and emotional support are needed to help treat grief; and (3) specific characteristics of chronic sorrow are associated with perinatal loss, such as grief that feels diminished and the presence of another child serving as both a cure and a trigger of sorrow.  Conclusion: Chronic sorrow as a result of perinatal loss is experienced repeatedly when mothers face certain triggers. We have identified two characteristics (diminished grief, having another child serve to both cure and trigger sorrow) that are specific to the experience of chronic sorrow compared to that of general grief. It is important to understand the experience of chronic sorrow and how coping strategies and a support system can help grieving mothers to overcome their loss. 

The level of grief in women with pregnancy loss: a prospective evaluation of the first three months of perinatal loss

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively investigate perinatal grief in women with pregnancy loss.

METHODS

A total of 215 women (mean (SD) age: 30.7 (5.9) years) who experienced pregnancy loss were included. Data on sociodemographic, marital and obstetric characteristics and Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) (first 48 h, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after the loss) were recorded.

RESULTS

Active grief scores were lower (p ranged  < .05 to <.01), while difficulty coping (p < .05 for each) and despair (p < .05 for each) scores were higher in the 3rd month as compared with prior assessments. All PGS scores at the 48 h and 3rd month assessments were significantly higher in assisted and planned pregnancies (p < .01 for each). Maternal age was positively correlated with 48 h active grief (r = 0.19, p < .001), despair (r = 0.13, p < .05) and total PGS (r = 0.13, p < .05) scores. Parity and the number of children were negatively correlated (r ranged from -0.35 to -0.20, p < .01 for each) with all PGS scores.

CONCLUSION

Our findings revealed decrease in active grief levels, whereas gradual increase in difficulty coping and despair in women with pregnancy loss within the first 3 months of losing a child. Our finding indicate association of older maternal age, primiparity, assisted and planned pregnancies with regular antenatal follow up with higher total PGS scores as well as active grief, difficulty coping and despair scores in women regardless of the time of assessment within 3 months after the pregnancy loss.

Professional practice in caring for maternal grief in the face of stillbirth in two countries

OBJECTIVE

to understand professional care for maternal grief in the puerperium of stillbirth.

METHODS

a clinical-qualitative study with all the women who had stillbirths living in Maringá (Brazil) and participating in the Center d'Études et de Recherche in Family Intervention at the University of Quebec in Outaouais in Gatineau (Canada). Semi-structured interviews were carried out and the relevant aspects were categorized into themes.

RESULTS

the identified categories were: Assistance received in the puerperium with a focus on grief: hospital and outpatient environment, and Professional support in coping with maternal grief after fetal loss: with contact and memories, without contact and without memories and impossibilities of contact with the baby.

FINAL

considerations: the need for a multidisciplinary support and monitoring network for women who experienced fetal loss was evident. From this study, a routine of care for grief can be implemented in Brazil based on experiences in Canada.

The perinatal bereavement project: development and evaluation of supportive guidelines for families experiencing stillbirth and neonatal death in Southeast Brazil-a quasi-experimental before-and-after study

BACKGROUND

For most parents, getting pregnant means having a child. Generally, the couple outlines plans and has expectations regarding the baby. When these plans are interrupted because of a perinatal loss, it turns out to be a traumatic experience for the family. Validating the grief of these losses has been a challenge to Brazilian society, which is evident considering the childbirth care offered to bereaved families in maternity wards. Positively assessed care that brings physical and emotional memories about the baby has a positive impact on the bereavement process that family undergoes. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effects supportive guidelines have on mental health. They were designed to assist grieving parents and their families while undergoing perinatal loss in public maternities in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, Brazil.

METHOD

A mixed-methods (qualitative/quantitative), quasi-experimental (before/after) study. The intervention is the implementation of bereavement supportive guidelines for women who experienced a stillbirth or a neonatal death. A total of forty women will be included. Twenty participants will be assessed before and twenty will be assessed after the implementation of the guidelines. A semi-structured questionnaire and three scales will be used to assess the effects of the guidelines. Health care professionals and managers of all childbirth facilities will be invited to participate in focus group. Data will be analyzed using statistical tests, as well as thematic analysis approach.

DISCUSSION

The Perinatal Bereavement guidelines are a local adaptation of the Canadian and British corresponding guidelines. These guidelines have been developed based on the families' needs of baby memories during the bereavement process and include the following aspects: (1) Organization of care into periods, considering their respective needs along the process; (2) Creation of the Bereavement Professional figure in maternity wards; (3) Adequacy of the institutional environment; (4) Communication of the guidance; (5) Creation of baby memories. We expect that the current project generates additional evidence for improving the mental health of women and families that experience a perinatal loss. Trial registration RBR-3cpthr For many couples, getting pregnant does not only mean carrying a baby, but also having a child. Most of the time, the couple has already made many plans and has expectations towards the child. When these plans are interrupted because of a perinatal loss, it turns out to be a traumatic experience for the family. In Brazilian culture, validating this traumatic grief is very difficult, especially when it happens too soon. The barriers can be noticed not only by the way society deals with the parents' grief, but also when we see the care the grieving families receive from the health care establishment. Creating physical and emotional memories might bring the parents satisfaction regarding the care they receive when a baby dies. These memories can be built when there is good communication throughout the care received; shared decisions; the chance to see and hold the baby, as well as collect memories; privacy and continuous care during the whole process, including when there is a new pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period. With this in mind, among the most important factors are the training of health staff and other professionals, the preparation of the maternity ward to support bereaved families and the continuous support to the professionals involved in the bereavement. This article proposes guidelines to support the families who are experiencing stillbirth and neonatal death. It may be followed by childbirth professionals (nurses, midwives, obstetricians and employees of a maternity ward), managers, researchers, policymakers or those interested in developing specific protocols for their maternity wards.

Traditional practices during pregnancy and birth, and perceptions of perinatal losses in women of rural Pakistan

OBJECTIVE

Understanding the sociocultural context and local practices during pregnancy and birth is imperative to identify factors related to perinatal mortality in countries where its burden is high. This study aims to explore the pregnancy and birth related cultural practices and the perceptions of women with a recent perinatal death in Sindh province, Pakistan.

DESIGN

This qualitative exploratory study consisted of in-depth interviews with women who had experienced a perinatal death in the year preceding the study. Women were identified and recruited with the help of lady health workers. After consent, women were interviewed in their homes and in their own language (Sindhi) by a local female interviewer.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Interviews were conducted with women from predominantly rural district of the southern province of Sindh in Pakistan between May and August 2018. The data were coded both inductively and deductively and then analysed using themes.

FINDINGS

Twenty-five women were interviewed. Traditional home remedies were commonly used to alleviate pregnancy symptoms such as general aches and pains. The health providers often delayed the information about the perinatal deaths in health facilities, which saddened the women. Most women had fatalistic opinions about what caused their losses, and explained the cause based on their own interpretation, which were not necessarily consistent with known causes of perinatal death. The women also desired to use contraception and believed that it would prevent future pregnancy loss; however, many women were unable to make that decision themselves.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The high use of traditional home-based remedies may be a proxy measure for poor access to formal healthcare services. Many women described poor acknowledgement of their grief which may be harmful. Women's knowledge about the causes of perinatal mortality in general was very low, improving this knowledge may help women to seek appropriate healthcare services during pregnancy.

A systematic review of instruments measuring grief after perinatal loss and factors associated with grief reactions

OBJECTIVE

Expectant parents who live through perinatal loss experience intense grief, which is not always acknowledged or accepted. A screening tool to detect bereaved parents' grief reactions can guide professionals, including perinatal palliative care teams, to provide follow-up for those in need. This review's goal is to identify and synthesize the international published literature on existent instruments specifically measuring the grieving process after any perinatal loss and to identify factors that could moderate grief reactions.

METHOD

Systematic review (PROSPERO # CRD42018092555) with critical synthesis. PUBMED, Cochrane, and PsycINFO databases were searched in English language articles using the keywords "perinatal" AND ("grief" OR "bereavement" OR mourning) AND ("scale" OR "questionnaire" OR "measure" OR "assessment") up to May 2018. Eligibility criteria included every study using a measure to assess perinatal grief after all kinds of perinatal losses, including validations and translations to other languages and interventions designed to alleviate grief symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 67 papers met inclusion criteria. Seven instruments measuring perinatal grief published between 1984 and 2002 are described. The Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) was used in 53 of the selected studies. Of those, 39 analyzed factors associated with grief reactions. Six articles used PGS scores to evaluate pre- and post-bereavement interventions. Studies in English language only might have limited the number of articles.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

The PGS is the most used standardized measures to assess grief after perinatal loss. All parents living through any kind of perinatal loss should be screened.

Parents' and healthcare professionals' experiences of care after stillbirth in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-summary

BACKGROUND

Stillbirth has a profound impact on women, families, and healthcare workers. The burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is need for respectful and supportive care for women, partners, and families after bereavement.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a qualitative meta-summary of parents' and healthcare professionals' experiences of care after stillbirth in LMICs.

SEARCH STRATEGY

Search terms were formulated by identifying all synonyms, thesaurus terms, and variations for stillbirth. Databases searched were AMED, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, BNI, CINAHL.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies that addressed parents' or healthcare professionals' experience of care after stillbirth in LMICs.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Studies were screened, and data extracted in duplicate. Data were analysed using the Sandelowski meta-summary technique that calculates frequency and intensity effect sizes (FES/IES).

MAIN RESULTS

In all, 118 full texts were screened, and 34 studies from 17 countries were included. FES range was 15-68%. Most studies had IES 1.5-4.5. Women experience a broad range of manifestations of grief following stillbirth, which may not be recognised by healthcare workers or in their communities. Lack of recognition exacerbates negative experiences of stigmatisation, blame, devaluation, and loss of social status. Adequately developed health systems, with trained and supported staff, are best equipped to provide the support and information that women want after stillbirth.

CONCLUSIONS

Basic interventions could have an immediate impact on the experiences of women and their families after stillbirth. Examples include public education to reduce stigma, promoting the respectful maternity care agenda, and investigating stillbirth appropriately.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Reducing stigma, promoting respectful care and investigating stillbirth have a positive impact after stillbirth for women and families in LMICs.