Bereavement and stress of a miscarriage: As it affects the couple

Perinatal death affects nearly one-third of all pregnant women (Toedter, La sker, & Alhadeff, 1988). Of the different forms of perinatal death, this st udy explored the psychological impact of grief and stress in couples who ex perienced a miscarriage. Using the Grief Experience Inventory-Loss Version and The Impact of Event Scale, this study specifically looked at the differ ences between the couple in how they grieve and experience the stress of th e miscarriage. Profile analyses indicated that the women's overall response pattern to the bereavement scales was different from their partners. In ad dition, women reported significantly higher Intrusive Distress than their p artners. Results suggest that a miscarriage affects the woman and her partn er, as well as the relationship of the couple. The major purpose of this in vestigation was to study the psychological experience of a miscarriage, and to determine if women and their partners experience the loss differently.