When a Baby Dies: Ambiguity and Stillbirth

Exploring the Increased Odds of Divorce Following Miscarriage or Stillbirth

“…Although we did find that women who experienced miscarriage and stillbirth had significantly greater odds of divorce than women without a loss-with greatest odds for women who experienced stillbirth-women who experienced the loss of a planned pregnancy were less likely to have divorced. We suspect that this finding might be an indication of couple communication, which can also buffer the distress following a loss (Cacciatore et al, 2008;DeFrain et al, 1996). It is also possible that an unplanned pregnancy might be an indicator of an unstable relationship; prior evidence suggests that women who try to get pregnant as compared to those trying not to get pregnant report greater relationship satisfaction (McQuillan, Greil, & Shreffler, 2010).…”

“…In some smaller, clinic-based studies, couples report that a miscarriage or stillbirth strengthens their marriage as they turn to each other for support. For example, a study by Cacciatore, DeFrain, and Jones (2008) found that fewer than 10% of couples who experienced a loss reported that they considered divorce because of their stillbirth. Similarly, DeFrain, Millspaugh, and Xie (1996) found only 11% of couples who had experienced a miscarriage reported that their marriages were weakened by the event, compared to 60% who said it was strengthened.…”

Recovering from stillbirth: the effects of making and sharing memories on maternal mental health

“…This is important for mothers bearing live infants (Callister, 2004) and may be even more so following stillbirth. This is because, as Cacciatore, DeFrain, and Jones (2008) pointed out, stillbirth is an example of ambiguous loss (Boss, 1999). This leads to ambiguity in the mother's identity -she is both 'mother', the baby was born and is psychologically present, and 'not mother', the baby is physically absent.…”

Stillbirth and Stigma: The Spoiling and Repair of Multiple Social Identities

“…The increasing (if politically controversial) issuing of birth certificates for stillborn babies (Sanger, 2012), as well as the establishment of monuments by parents can be seen as part of this process, integrating the stillborn child into the worlds of the living and the dead and giving the baby a social identity (Godel, 2007;Peelen, 2009). Such practices also create material testimony to an otherwise invisible, ambiguous loss (Boss, 1999;Cacciatore, DeFrain, & Jones, 2008;Lang et al, 2011) and provide a means of publicly displaying previously disenfranchised grief that is "not openly acknowledged, publicly mourned or socially supported" (Doka, 1989, p. 4).…”