Contexts and evolution of women's responses to miscarriage during the first year after loss.
Descriptions of 85 women's feelings about miscarriage at 1, 6, 16, and 52 weeks were inductively coded, rank-ordered, and clustered into 3 responses: healing, actively grieving, and overwhelmed. Women who were actively grieving or overwhelmed at 1 week experienced significantly less distress from 6 weeks on. Responses at 1 week differed with regards to those who had a history of perinatal loss or went on to experience negative life events or sexual distance after loss. One year responses differed based on who was pregnant or gave birth, miscarried again, lived through a higher number of post-loss negative life events, or experienced interpersonal or sexual distance from their mate. Responses were not influenced by gestational age at loss or having other children.
Swanson
Kristen M
KM
Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Connor
Sherri
S
Jolley
Sandra N
SN
Pettinato
Maria
M
Wang
Tsae-Jyy
TJ
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014861:Washington