Perinatal grief: complicated or what? an analysis of the symptoms of perinatal grief in two samples of bereaved mothers in Australia

Background: Perinatal grief, which affects parents whose babies die during pregnancy or within a year after birth, has been shown to lead to severe morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. Despite the assertion that all these parents are susceptible to developing complicated grief because of the nature of their loss, there has been little evidence to support this. However, some variables which may predict the likelihood of these bereaved mothers having unremitting, intense grief have previously been identified, including: maternal age, education, marital status, occupational status, other losses and the presence of living children. Objective: The present studies assessed perinatal grief and the impact of these variables on the risk of developing complicated grief using self-reported data in two separate samples of perinatally bereaved mothers (N = 121) and (N = 146) up to five years after their loss. In Study 2 other psychopathological symptoms, including: depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress were also assessed. Results: Contrary to expectations, findings indicated that the proportion of these mothers who experienced complicated grief, 12.5% in Study 1 and 18% in Study 2, was similar to other populations of grievers. In both studies those variables that had been suggested as indicative of higher risk for developing psychopathology were not supported except for the absence/presence of other children. Conclusion: Perinatally bereaved mothers report clinically significant symptoms of complicated grief as well as other psychopathology such as depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress at levels similar to other populations of grievers. The symptomology of these mothers should be routinely monitored to assess need for referral for treatment when indicated. Limitations, such as the convenience samples of participants and strengths, such as, quantitative design of the study, are addressed and implications are outlined

The presence and predictors of complicated grief symptoms in perinatally-bereaved mothers from a bereavement support organization

The present study investigated the presence and possible predictors of complicated grief symptoms in perinatally-bereaved mothers (N = 121) up to 5 years post-bereavement. The presence of complicated grief scores in the clinical range was 12.4%, which is higher than in many other bereaved populations, and the presence of other living children may protect against the development of complicated grief symptoms. The majority of the women were able to negotiate a perinatal loss without developing complicated grief; however, there remains an important group of women who up to 5 years later score in the clinical range for complicated grief symptoms