After an earlier study into the practical aspects of the management of perinatal death, a counselling service was introduced for parents whose baby had died in the perinatal period. The service was monitored, and the parents who received the service were compared with a group that did not. Fifty families were allocated randomly either to the counselling (supported) group or to the contrast group, who received routine hospital care. Assessment was carried out at six and 14 months after the death, using a semi-structured interview and two self-rating scales (the general health questionnaire and the Leeds scales). Two of 16 mothers in the supported group showed psychiatric disorder at six months, compared with 10 of 19 in the contrast group (p less than 0.01, Fisher's exact test). There was no significant difference between the two groups at 14 months, when 80% of all the women studied had recovered psychiatric symptoms. Socially isolated women and those who marital relations lacked intimacy had a higher incidence of psychiatric symptoms at six months. Early pregnancy (within six months) was associated with a higher incidence of psychiatric symptoms in the unsupported group. The duration of bereavement reaction after perinatal death was appreciably shortened by support and counselling.

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/285/6353/1475.full.pdf

Support after perinatal death: a study of support and counselling after perinatal bereavement.

(1980). Maternal Reactions to Involuntary Fetal/Infant Death. Psychiatry: Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 155-159.

Maternal Reactions to Involuntary Fetal/Infant Death

The mental health impact of stillbirth, neonatal death or SIDS: Prevalence and patterns of distress among mothers

Recognizing that grieving occurs in parents of stillborn infants, attention is focused on aspects of grief, both similar to others bereavements and particular to perinatal loss. Processes in perinatal bereavement, pathological variants of perinatal grief, and the conditions and interventions affecting the outcome of grief at stillbirth are considered. Suggestions for further research are offered.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ort/52/3/420.pdf

The forgotten grief: a review of the psychology of stillbirth.

To understand parents' subjective feelings, experiences, and understanding connected to the loss of a child over time, the authors chose semi-structured, in-depth interviews as the method of examination in a study of 26 parents who lost a child to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) between 1981 and 1984. In addition, parents were asked to complete different inventories to compare their present responses (1996) with their responses to the same inventories in 1981-1984. Most parents still viewed the death of their child as affecting their daily life in important ways. Inventory data show that gender differences have diminished 12-15 years after the loss, and few parents are psychologically at risk in 1996. The study clearly shows the benefit of method triangulation in providing a total picture of the parent's experiences.

Jensen Js

Papers

Depression in mothers who have lost a newborn.