Psychosocial implications of stillborn babies on mother and family: a review from tertiary care infirmary in India
Open accessAbstract
Background When a mother loses a baby after the period of viability, there is no way to fathom her grief, neither any words, nor an explanation. It is an unexpected event. Stillbirth presents a situation where the early activation of the grief process primarily in mother is exacerbated by the circumstances surrounding the loss. It thus becomes imperative for the healthcare providers to evaluate the significance of parent's perception on the loss and the factors contributing to it before the initiation of therapy.Objective To evaluate the psychosocial impact of stillbirth among mothers and its contributing factors.Materials and methods A WHO-funded prospective study was conducted in VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital from September 2015 to August 2016 on all women who gave birth to a stillborn baby, using a questionnaire based on EPDS, after taking their written informed consent. Data were entered on the predesigned proforma and analyzed after applying Chi-square test, keeping a null hypothesis value of 15% for all the variables.Results Out of the 709 women who delivered stillborn babies, 645 respondents, who willingly consented to participate, were included in the study. There was a significant relationship between psychosocial impact after perinatal loss and support from caregiver and family.Conclusion Mothers with stillborn fetuses should be screened for psychosocial impact and offered support when needed. Appropriate counseling by healthcare providers and continued psychosocial and emotional support by family members must be provided.
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- Authors
- Marwah, S., Gaikwad, H. S., & Mittal, P.
- Affiliations
- Safdarjang Hospital (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Marwah, Sheeba
- Venue
- The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India
- Published
- 2018-09-06
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 232-238
- ISSN
- 0971-9202 (ISSN-L)
- 0975-6434
- PMC
- PMC6531591
- OpenAlex
- W2889744895
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- World Health Organization
- National Defense Medical College
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- stillbirth, perinatal loss, maternal grief, psychosocial impact, family support, caregiver support, postpartum depression screening, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, maternal mental health, grief counseling
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