Isolation and Emotional Distress Following Pregnancy Loss

Isolation and emotional distress following pregnancy loss has likely been an undertreated reproductive concern for women and their partners according to Charlotte Huff’s article “The Hidden Grief of Miscarriage” in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology. Unlike other losses, miscarriages are often experienced by women and their partners privately and without family gathering rituals.  Bereaved parents may live with underreported grief reinforced by cultural perceptions that pregnancy loss is less significant than other losses. Research by reproductive psychologists has shown that length of pregnancy is not a reliable predictor of grief and distress levels following pregnancy loss. Psychologists can play an important role in promoting education on difficulties associated with reproductive losses. Psychotherapy offers efficacious treatments to decrease psychological distress following miscarriage, as well as supporting processing and growth following loss.
-C&B Director, Cindy Carter, Ph.D.