title: Effect of previous miscarriage on the maternal birth experience in the First Baby Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a history of miscarriage is related to birth experience and/or maternal fear of an adverse birth outcome for self or infant during a subsequent delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study, the First Baby Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women age 18 to 35 who were expecting to deliver their first live-born infants in Pennsylvania between January 2009 and April 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred fifty-three pregnant women who reported perinatal loss prior to 20 weeks gestation (miscarriage) in a previous pregnancy and 2401 pregnant women without a history of miscarriage were interviewed during pregnancy and again one month after their first live birth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal birth experience and fear of an adverse birth outcome measured via telephone interview were compared across groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal birth experience scores did not significantly differ between women with and without previous miscarriage. Women with a history of miscarriage reported that they feared an adverse birth outcome for themselves or their infants more frequently than women without a history of miscarriage (52.1% vs. 46.6%; p = .033), however, this relationship was not significant after adjustment for confounders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicate that there is no association between miscarriage history and birth experience. Additional research on this topic would be beneficial including an in-depth examination of fear of adverse outcome during birth. However, nurses and midwives may consider using therapeutic communication techniques to ensure that women with a history of miscarriage receive strong emotional support and reassurance during birth.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, The Pennsylvania State University, 600 Centerview Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. cxb935@psu.edu
authors.forename: Cara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bicking Kinsey
authors.forename: Kesha
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baptiste-Roberts
authors.forename: Junjia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Kristen H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kjerulff
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: birth experience; fear; miscarriage; pregnancy loss; spontaneous abortion