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Cited by 112Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthDeath, Funerary Practices, and MourningInfant Development and Preterm Care

Psychological aspects of perinatal loss

Hughes, Patricia, Riches, Samantha·2003·Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology
DOI 10.1097/00001703-200304000-00004
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Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Parents are attached to their unborn children, and loss around the time of birth is a serious trauma. Parental grief is a normal response, and may last for many months. Clinicians have always sought to implement practices that will help recovery, and for a generation, have advocated that parents have contact with the body of their dead infant, believing that this will facilitate mourning. Review of the literature shows that no previous systematic evidence has ever been offered to support this practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent research throws doubt on the therapeutic value of the practice of encouraging contact with the dead infant. These findings are outlined and discussed. SUMMARY: Following an outline of what is already known about the psychological effects of perinatal loss, the paper focuses on the evidence that aspects of psychosocial management are associated with better outcomes. It goes on to describe the cultural context in which psychosocial management changed and parents were first encouraged to see and handle their dead infant, and explores the distinction between the medical and cultural models which may frame this behaviour in very different ways. Finally, it briefly discusses the ethical position of staff who advise parents about their choice to see or not see their infant's body.

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Crossref · 10.1097/00001703-200304000-00004

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15 of 15 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Perinatal loss through stillbirth, miscarriage, or neonatal death is a traumatic life event with substantial psychological impact on parents and families.

    “The loss of an infant through stillbirth, miscarriage, or neonatal death is recognized as a traumatic life event.”

    From Complicated grief after perinatal loss (2012) · cites this paper as [11]

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Authors
Hughes, P., & Riches, S.
Affiliations
St George's Hospital (GB)
Corresponding author
Hughes, Patricia
Venue
Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2003-04
Volume
15
Issue
2
Pages
107-111
ISSN
1040-872X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/00001703-200304000-00004
OpenAlex
W2312989808
Cited by
112
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 6
FWCI
0.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
Keywords
perinatal loss, parental grief, stillbirth, neonatal death, mourning, psychosocial management, bereavement support
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Counseling, Female, Fetal Death, Grief, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Parents, Pregnancy

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