Individual counseling in mothers bereaved by pregnancy loss: a randomized clinical trial
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The loss of a pregnancy can result in grief, guilt, self-doubt, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Considering the side effects mentioned for mental health and the fact that the symptoms will linger if left untreated and even adversely affect the subsequent pregnancies. The current study was designed to assess the impact of individual counseling on stress, anxiety, and depression in mothers with pregnancy loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study commenced 100 women who experienced pregnancy loss (in Urmia/2018-2019); they were enrolled using convenience sampling and block randomization. The intervention group received four individual counseling sessions (weekly sessions with a duration of 1 h) based on Warden's principles. The control group received routine care. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42) was filled out at baseline, the pre- and post-intervention. Analyses were performed using the Chi-square, paired, or individual t -tests, when necessary. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: There were no significant differences regarding socio-demographic characteristics and clinical features between groups at baseline. Intra-group analysis showed that all outcome measures in the intervention group were significantly improved. According to inter-groups analysis, a significant association was found between pre-test and post-test in the intervention group ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Results of this study can clarify the psychological effects of pregnancy loss in these mothers and help the officials and responsible parties to plan the treatment and rehabilitation of these women and include them in the healthcare system.
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Most researchers have explored interventions aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of grieving parents.
“Most have explored interventions aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of grieving parents (Haghighi et al., 2022; Pedraza et al., 2024)”
From Nurses' and midwives' experiences of supporting parents following perinatal bereavement: A qualitative systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Haghighi et al., 2022
The Introduction describes studies of bereavement and mindfulness interventions for women after pregnancy loss, and the Discussion says this trial’s counseling aimed to improve mothers’ psychological well-being. These passages support the existence of such research, but they do not establish that most researchers have studied these interventions or extend the trial’s focus to grieving parents generally. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIndividual counselling is effective in alleviating symptoms of grief and post-traumatic stress disorder in parents following perinatal loss.
“Individual counselling has been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of grief and post-traumatic stress disorder of parents (Haghighi et al., 2022; Hasani et al., 2021; Navidian et al., 2017).”
From Nurses' and midwives' experiences of supporting parents following perinatal bereavement: A qualitative systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Haghighi et al., 2022
The Methods describe individual grief-focused counseling for mothers after pregnancy loss, and the Results report reduced depression, anxiety, and stress scores. The study did not measure grief or PTSD symptoms directly, and it did not study fathers or other parents. Its Discussion reports a PTSD reduction from a separate study by Navidian et al. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Haghighi, M., Oladbaniadam, K., Mohaddesi, H., & Rasuli, J.
- Affiliations
- Urmia University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Oladbaniadam, Khatereh
- Venue
- Journal of Education and Health Promotion
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 209-209
- ISSN
- 2277-9531 (ISSN-L)
- 2319-6440
- PMC
- PMC9393948
- OpenAlex
- W4293104245
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 1.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Education and Health Promotion (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- 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 › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Keywords
- miscarriage, stillbirth, maternal grief, individual counseling, depression, anxiety, stress, psychological intervention, maternal mental health
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