Parameters of grieving in spontaneous abortion

Objective: The study's objective was to determine the quality and severity of grief after spontaneous abortion and to statistically determine the effe ct of significant demographics and social variables such as age, number of previous losses and the effect of perceived family support on the grief exp erienced. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-four women who had experienced a miscarriage within the last year were the participants. One hundred and sev enty-five had miscarried three months prior to participation in the study; one hundred and nineteen had miscarried one year previously. Ninety-five pe rcent of women approached consented to participate. Standardized psychometr ic tests and Likert Scales measured elements of grief such as depression, s elf-esteem, perceived guilt and stress at two time periods in the first yea r after loss. Results: Women in both time periods after miscarriage had mea n depression scores in the "clinical risk for depression" or "in need of tr eatment" range, i.e., pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. A majority of women showed negative emotions like self blame and stress. Younger women with mu ltiple miscarriages showed more depression in the early time period after m iscarriage than older women (p < .05). However, at one year younger women h ad the least depression. Marital and family conflict correlated positively with depressive symptomatology (p < .05). Conclusions: Women assessed in th e first year after spontaneous abortion show grief characterized by perceiv ed stress and high levels of depressive symptoms including self-blame. Mari tal or family problems increase emotional risk to a woman after miscarriage .