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Cited by 97Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthGlobal Maternal and Child HealthMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Coping With Grief After Involuntary Pregnancy Loss: Perspectives of African American Women

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Van, Paulina, Meleis, Afaf I.·2003·Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing
DOI 10.1177/0884217502239798
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Abstract

Objective To present the coping strategies used by African American women following their miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, fetal deaths, and still-births, which the authors have termed involuntary pregnancy losses or IPLs.Design Semistructured audiotaped interviews; grounded theory methods used to collect and analyze the data.Setting Urban community-based sites in the Western United States.Participants 20 African American adult women who reported a history of involuntary pregnancy loss within 3 years of interview.Results In this study, the women's responses to their IPL were grouped into four areas. They coped with personal reactions, reactions of others, memories of the baby, and subsequent pregnancies.Conclusion The women in this study used inner resources to develop self-help strategies to cope with reactions following IPL. Nurses are challenged to harness the influence of family, friends, religion, and cultural traditions to assist women in processing the cognitive, emotional, and social traumas associated with IPL. Educating women to recognize grief responses after IPL and to manage these responses effectively may prevent adverse outcomes to their physical and mental health. A culturally sensitive framework of clinical assessment and intervention for African American women experiencing IPL has been developed.

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  • Cross-cultural studies with women highlight culturally-specific understandings and practices relating to loss of a baby that can impact grief.

    “However, while the impact of cultural diversity is yet to be explored in men, cross-cultural studies with women highlight a range of culturally-specific understandings and practices relating to the loss of a baby that can impact upon grief [105–109].”

    From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [109]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Patterson, P. (2000). Living with grief after pregnancy loss: Per- spectives of African American women (Doctoral disserta- tion, University of California, San Francisco). Digital Dis- sertations, 61(5), 2473.
  2. Woods, J. R., & Woods, J. L. (Eds.). (1997). Loss during preg- nancy or in the newborn period: Principles of care with clinical cases and analyses. Pitman, NJ: Jannetti.

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Authors
Van, P., & Meleis, A. I.
Affiliations
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
Corresponding author
Van, Paulina
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-01
Volume
32
Issue
1
Pages
28-39
ISSN
  • 0090-0311 (ISSN-L)
  • 0884-2175
DOI
10.1177/0884217502239798
OpenAlex
W2075021426
Cited by
97
References
52
Citations by year
2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 7
FWCI
4.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
  • Sigma Theta Tau International
  • University of California, San Francisco
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
grief, coping strategies, African American women, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, fetal death, stillbirth, cultural sensitivity, maternal mental health
MeSH terms
Abortion, Spontaneous, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Anecdotes as Topic, Black or African American, Female, Fetal Death, Grief, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Object Attachment, Pregnancy, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Support, Time Factors, United States, Urban Population, Women, Nursing Methodology Research

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