LOSS AND GRIEF REACTIONS AFTER SPONTANEOUS MISCARRIAGE IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Study objective: To describe the psychological and functional conseque nces of miscarriage in women after emergency department treatment and to identify variables that are associated with feelings of loss and gr ief. Design: A prospective telephone follow-up study. Setting: The ED of an urban teaching hospital. Type of participants: A consecutive sam ple of 44 women who were treated for miscarriage. Main results: Women were contacted a median of 17.5 days after their miscarriage. Although the pregnancy had been planned by only 12 women (28%), 30 (70%) state d they wanted the pregnancy once they knew they were pregnant. Women c ommonly felt a sense of loss (82%) and most experienced some limitatio ns with daily functioning (77%). Although wanting the pregnancy was as sociated with a sense of loss, 40% of the women who did not want the p regnancy experienced loss. Conclusion: Grief reactions are pervasive a fter spontaneous miscarriage. There is no subgroup of women who could be expected not to experience loss and grief. The ED management of the woman who miscarries should address the anticipated loss and grief.