Grief and ruminative thought after perinatal loss among Turkish women: one-year cohort study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Among women who have suffered loss of pregnancy, the level of grief decreases gradually. Age, mental health status and childlessness are the factors known to mostly affect women’s levels of grief. OBJECTIVES: To assess the levels of grief among women who experienced perinatal loss and the changes in their ruminative thought styles over the first year after their loss. DESIGN AND SETTING: One-year follow-up study carried out in a university hospital in Turkey. METHODS: The study population included 70 women who experienced loss of pregnancy in the hospital. The sample size was calculated using G*Power V3.1. Data were collected at 48 hours, at the third month, at the sixth month and at one year after pregnancy loss, between June 2018 and June 2019. A personal information form, the Perinatal Grief Scale and the Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire were used for data collection. RESULTS: The women’s highest levels of grief and ruminative thought style were in the first 48 hours. Their tendency towards grief and ruminative thought styles decreased over the repeated measurements during the follow-up. Women aged 20-29 years had the highest levels of grief at the third month after perinatal loss. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing assessments regarding grief and ruminative thought style over the first 48 hours after perinatal loss should be integrated into nursing care for these women. Grief follow-up programs for these women can be developed through nursing research.

Grief in women with previous miscarriage or stillbirth: a systematic review of cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective studies

“…Clear conclusions regarding corresponding differences between women with miscarriages and stillbirths or single and recurrent pregnancy losses cannot be drawn. According to one study (Gozuyesil et al, 2022 ), these differences failed to be significant; however, due to the limited sample size ( N = 70) these findings have to be interpreted with caution.…”

“…Thirteen of 21 studies (62%) were cross-sectional studies (Black et al, 2021 ; Das et al, 2021 ; De Montigny et al, 2017 ; Hanschmidt et al, 2018 ; Keefe-Cooperman, 2005 ; Kersting et al, 2005 ; Krosch & Shakespeare-Finch, 2017 ; Kulathilaka et al, 2016 ; Lafarge et al, 2017 ; Nazaré et al, 2012 ; Rich 2000 ; Serrano & Lima, 2006 ; Séjourné et al, 2016 ) and 8 (38%) were prospective longitudinal studies (Burgoine et al, 2005 ; Conway & Russell, 2000 ; Gozuyesil et al, 2022 ; Güçlü et al, 2021 ; Johnson & Johnston, 2021 ; Köneş & Yildiz, 2021 ; Scheidt et al, 2012 ; Volgsten et al, 2018 ).…”

“…In seven of the 13 cross-sectional studies (54%) (Hanschmidt et al, 2018 ; Krosch & Shakespeare-Finch, 2017 ; Lafarge et al, 2017 ; Nazaré et al, 2012 ; Rich 2000 ; Serrano & Lima, 2006 ; Séjourné et al, 2016 ), only one sample had been investigated consisting of women affected by miscarriages or stillbirths. Among the eight prospective longitudinal studies, five (63%) (Conway & Russell, 2000 ; Gozuyesil et al, 2022 ; Güçlü et al, 2021 ; Köneş & Yildiz, 2021 ; Scheidt et al, 2012 ) consisted of only one group of affected females. In nine studies, at least two groups (subgroups or control groups) were considered.…”

“…Gozuyesil et al ( 2022 ) applied the PGS-33 at four measurement times after a miscarriage or stillbirth (≤48 h, months 3, 6 and 12). Regarding women with a miscarriage, their median grief score was initially above the threshold for severe grief (94.5), then continuously decreasing and finally reaching 48.…”

“…In some studies (e.g. Gozuyesil et al, 2022 ), a history of symptoms of mental disorders was an exclusion criterion.…”