title: Religious beliefs affect grieving after pregnancy loss.
abstract: Religious beliefs and practices may aid in coping with bereavement and grief after pregnancy loss. Data from 103 women enrolled in the original Lehigh Valley Perinatal Loss Project, and who were followed-up for at least 1 year, were evaluated for the impact of initial religious practices and beliefs on the course and severity of grief. Religious practices corresponding to standard scales of religiosity and agreement with specific beliefs were rated by the women on a Likert scale of 1-5. Neither agreement with statements corresponding to extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity or to positive religious coping, nor frequency of religious service attendance was predictive of follow-up scores on the Perinatal Grief Scale. Religious struggle, agreement with statements classified as negative religious coping, and continued attachment to the baby were all associated with more severe grief.
authors.affiliation: Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke University Medical Center, 3825, Suite 0507, Durham, NC 27710, USA. fcowchock@nc.rr.com
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Cowchock
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Lasker
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Toedter
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Skumanich
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Koenig
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
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