The Scope and Impact of Perinatal Loss: Current Status and Future Directions.
Abstract
The loss of an expected child can be devastating and traumatizing for parents, placing them at risk for postloss mental health complications, such as complicated or traumatic grief. The authors review the psychological and social impacts of perinatal loss and describe the standard care provided in the hospital. The authors review studies that examine the efficacy of standard care and highlight the need for empirical evidence confirming the efficacy of these current interventions. The authors provide recommendations for health care professionals in contact with the perinatally bereaved and suggest areas for future research.
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Women with a supportive spouse may perceive more social support to accommodate thoughts and feelings after losing a child, thus buffering against loneliness from lack of support and understanding from other family members or friends.
“A possible explanation for this is that women with a supportive spouse may perceive more social support to accommodate thoughts and feelings after losing a child [43], thus buffering against the loneliness felt by the potential lack of support and understanding from other family members or friends [13].”
From Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD after stillbirth: a systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [13]
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- Authors
- Bennett, S. M., Litz, B. T., Lee, B. S., & Maguen, S.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- VA Boston Healthcare System (US)
- Venue
- Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
- Published
- 2005-04
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 180-187
- ISSN
- 0735-7028 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1323
- OpenAlex
- W2015110180
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 3.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Professional Psychology Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Keywords
- perinatal loss, perinatal bereavement, complicated grief, traumatic grief, psychological impact, social impact, standard of care, bereavement interventions, maternal mental health
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