Initial adaptation in mothers and fathers following perinatal loss

Abstract

Two months following perinatal loss, 82 mothers out of a total of 205 whose infants died at a tertiary referral obstetrical hospital and 47 of their partners were assessed with regard to their reactions to the deaths of their infants. Sample to population comparisons indicated that those who participated in the investigation were more likely to be socially advantaged. Intensity of mothers' grief exceeded fathers', but in roughly 25% of cases fathers' grief exceeded mothers. Mothers with higher self‐reports of ego strength reported lower intensity of grief. Fathers with less ego strength, less social support, and more stressful life events had significantly higher self‐reported grief. A subgroup of parents who reported minimal grief was identified and characterized. Implitions of these findings for research on reactions to perinatal loss are discussed.

The psychological effects of stillbirth and neonatal death on fathers: Systematic review

“…Table I summarizes the study population and sampling techniques for each study. Four studies [12][13][14][15] studied fathers only; the other 13 studies looked at bereaved parents but reported results for fathers separately. Five studies [9,[13][14][15][16] focused on stillbirth only, three [12,17,18] focused on neonatal death only, four [19][20][21][22] focused on stillbirth and neonatal death, and five included stillbirth, neonatal death and SIDS but reported the results of each separately [23][24][25][26][27]. The inception cohort reported in one paper [23] was followed up in three further reports [24][25][26].…”

“…Among groups recruiting from hospital lists, three [13,18,22] reported response rates for fathers or couples (ranging from 62% to 73%); however, these response rates may appear artificially high due to the narrow selection criteria. The remaining six groups did not specify response rates for fathers: five papers [9,17,19,23,27] reported response rates for participating parents but not specifically for fathers and two [12,15] did not report response rates at all. Eight papers [9,17,19,[23][24][25][26][27] compared the demographics of responders to non-responders.…”

“…The remaining six groups did not specify response rates for fathers: five papers [9,17,19,23,27] reported response rates for participating parents but not specifically for fathers and two [12,15] did not report response rates at all. Eight papers [9,17,19,[23][24][25][26][27] compared the demographics of responders to non-responders. Dyregrov and Matthieson [27] found responders similar to non-responders on variables such as urban or rural living and maternal age, but did not investigate social class, an important potential area of bias.…”

“…Zeanah et al [19] found that a greater intensity of grief was associated with a perceived lack of social support, a history of other stressful life events and poor ego strength. Turton et al [9] found a trend towards more affective symptoms in line with vulnerability factors previously reported in mothers, namely lack of social support, history of treatment for psychological symptoms, third trimester loss and having seen the dead infant: however, none of these findings reached statistical significance.…”

Stillbirth and the Couple: A Gender-Based Exploration

“…The lack of social support, including that stemming from marital dissatisfaction, intensified grief responses (LaRoche et al, 1984;Clyman, Green, Rowe, Mikkelsen, & Ataide, 1980). In a study of 82 mothers and 47 fathers experiencing perinatal death, Zeanah et al (1995) found that the quality of a marital relationship and social support were more important predictors of adaptation than demographics such as age, education, or socioeconomic status. Similarly, another study found that the most important predictor of maternal anxiety and depression after stillbirth was the level of support from her partner and family (Cacciatore, Schnelby, & Froen, 2008).…”