Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case
Introduction Perinatal death includes losses such as ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Perinatal loss has well documented negative effects on the health of the bereaved parents. Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is the spontaneous death of a fetus within the first 20 wee...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-04-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821022021/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827754388643381248 |
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| author | S. Freitas Ramos B. Jesus M.I. Fonseca Marinho Vaz Soares J. Martins Correia J. Mendes |
| author_facet | S. Freitas Ramos B. Jesus M.I. Fonseca Marinho Vaz Soares J. Martins Correia J. Mendes |
| author_sort | S. Freitas Ramos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
Perinatal death includes losses such as ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Perinatal loss has well documented negative effects on the health of the bereaved parents. Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is the spontaneous death of a fetus within the first 20 weeks of gestation.
Objectives
To describe a clinical case of disenfranchised grief following EPL and to review the literature.
Methods
We reviewed the clinical file of a patient presenting to the psychiatry outpatient clinic with disenfranchised grief. We conducted a non-systematic review on PubMed and Google Scholar.
Results
A 29-years-old female patient presents to the outpatient clinic with depressive symptoms and thoughts of death. The symptoms had begun 4 months earlier, following the loss of pregnancy at 14 weeks. She felt her grief was not accepted by her family and social network. Progressively, her relationships deteriorated, and she felt more and more isolated. She experienced marked difficulty in caring for her older child. Compared to other types of mourning, the loss of a child is associated with grief experience that is particularly severe and complicated. Despite the high prevalence of EPL, many women suffer in silence due to the common belief these losses are insignificant and may develop complicated grief.
Conclusions
Perinatal loss of an infant has the potential to have a large impact on the mental health of the bereaved parents. Literature on the efficacy of different interventions is still scarce. Further studies are necessary on prevention strategies and interventions for parents already suffering from complicated grief or depressive disorders.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:48:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81aa709c8e16488abed9af468ea73e8d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:48:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-81aa709c8e16488abed9af468ea73e8d2023-11-17T05:07:07ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852021-04-0164S833S83410.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.2202Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical caseS. Freitas Ramos0B. Jesus1M.I. Fonseca Marinho Vaz Soares2J. Martins Correia3J. Mendes4Department Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, PortugalDepartment Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, PortugalDepartment Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, PortugalDepartment Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, PortugalDepartment Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, Portugal Introduction Perinatal death includes losses such as ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Perinatal loss has well documented negative effects on the health of the bereaved parents. Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is the spontaneous death of a fetus within the first 20 weeks of gestation. Objectives To describe a clinical case of disenfranchised grief following EPL and to review the literature. Methods We reviewed the clinical file of a patient presenting to the psychiatry outpatient clinic with disenfranchised grief. We conducted a non-systematic review on PubMed and Google Scholar. Results A 29-years-old female patient presents to the outpatient clinic with depressive symptoms and thoughts of death. The symptoms had begun 4 months earlier, following the loss of pregnancy at 14 weeks. She felt her grief was not accepted by her family and social network. Progressively, her relationships deteriorated, and she felt more and more isolated. She experienced marked difficulty in caring for her older child. Compared to other types of mourning, the loss of a child is associated with grief experience that is particularly severe and complicated. Despite the high prevalence of EPL, many women suffer in silence due to the common belief these losses are insignificant and may develop complicated grief. Conclusions Perinatal loss of an infant has the potential to have a large impact on the mental health of the bereaved parents. Literature on the efficacy of different interventions is still scarce. Further studies are necessary on prevention strategies and interventions for parents already suffering from complicated grief or depressive disorders. Disclosure No significant relationships. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821022021/type/journal_articleGriefearly pregnancy loss |
| spellingShingle | S. Freitas Ramos B. Jesus M.I. Fonseca Marinho Vaz Soares J. Martins Correia J. Mendes Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case European Psychiatry Grief early pregnancy loss |
| title | Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case |
| title_full | Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case |
| title_fullStr | Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case |
| title_short | Disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss – apropos a clinical case |
| title_sort | disenfranchised grief and early pregnancy loss apropos a clinical case |
| topic | Grief early pregnancy loss |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821022021/type/journal_article |
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