Grief, anxiety, stillbirth, and perinatal problems: healing with kangaroo care.
A young, anxious mother's first pregnancy was eclamptic, her placenta was underperfused, and her son was stillborn. She carried grief, guilt, anxiety, and hypervigilance into her next preeclamptic pregnancy, birth (of her small-for-dates son), and early postpartum period. When breastfeeding difficulties developed, the authors intervened with three consecutive (skin-to-skin) breastfeedings. During the first skin-to-skin breastfeeding, the mother stopped crying, shared self-disparaging emotions, and then began relaxing and "taking-in" her new baby. Breastfeeding continues at 1 year.
Burkhammer
Maria D
MD
Edward J. and Louise Mellen Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4904, USA.
Anderson
Gene Cranston
GC
Chiu
Sheau-Huey
SH
D001007:Anxiety; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000451:nursing; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors