This post’s title—with the word “loss” crossed out—signifies a relatively recent change: “reproductive loss/grief” has been replaced by reproductive trauma. Clayton Brigance (University of Missouri – St. Louis) and his colleagues demonstrated that trauma captures the experience in a more valid way.1 Through social-media support groups and local OB/GYN and fertility-treatment centers, they identified a group of volunteer participants who had experienced different types of negative reproductive events, and examined their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. 281 individuals who had encountered infertility, miscarriage(s), fetal distress during pregnancy, fetal distress during delivery, premature birth, or stillbirth completed a PTSD-symptom questionnaire, indicating how strongly (ranging from “not at all” to “extremely”) they had experienced each of 20 PTSD symptoms during the past month, with respect to their pregnancy, their experience of their partner’s pregnancy, or their attempts to become pregnant. Then, their PTSD symptom scores were compared to those of a large, general-population sample (mostly college students).
The results showed that each type of reproductive trauma was associated with some types of PTSD symptoms, confirming the designation reproductive trauma. The groups who had experienced fetal distress during pregnancy, premature birth, or stillbirth had the highest total PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the group who had experienced a stillbirth had the highest levels of intrusive negative thoughts; fear of what might happen in future pregnancies; depression; a more negative outlook; and feelings of anxiety, shock, and anger, i.e., the most acute level of symptoms in the previous month. Some research has shown, though, that people who experience infertility experience the most distress over the long term.2,3 And for that matter, other types of losses can be traumatic, too.
As a whole, research shows that people who experience reproductive traumas are left with multiple challenges that may seem overwhelming at times—these include calming feelings of panic and/or anger (the most common elevation across all the groups,1 managing frightening thoughts, overcoming fears about what might happen in future pregnancies, maintaining healthy patterns of communication with a partner who may cope with distress in a very different way, and picking up the pieces of a seemingly shattered life story and constructing a new one.
Psychotherapy can help by providing support and validation, teaching ways to soothe ragged emotions, assisting with ways of communicating personal feelings and needs to other people (despite societal barriers for parents and hopeful parents to express grief), and providing a space in which to compose a new and coherent life story.
References
1Brigance, C. A., Kim, S.-R., & Kashubeck-West, S. (2023). Mean comparisons of trauma symptoms between a reproductive trauma
sample and a normative sample: Toward a trauma-informed practice. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 15(7), 1164–1171. https://doi-org.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/10.1037/tra0001468
2Archetti, C. (2024). Infertility as trauma: Understanding the lived experience of involuntary childlessness. Culture, Medicine, and
Psychiatry: An International Journal of Cross-Cultural Health Research. https://doi-org.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/10.1007/s11013-024-09871-7
3Jaffe, J. (2024). Grieving an unborn child: Pain and hope. In Reproductive trauma: Psychotherapy with clients experiencing
infertility and pregnancy loss., 2nd ed. (pp. 55–76). American Psychological Association. https://doi-org.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/10.1037/0000400-004
© Mary E. Procidano 2024. Do not reproduce, repost, or distribute without permission.