Women's emotions and concerns during pregnancy following perinatal loss

To determine the specific emotions and concerns of women who are pregnant following a perinatal loss.

Data were collected through a mailed questionnaire using an open response format. The sample consisted of 73 women on the membership mailing lists from two pregnancy-after-loss support groups. A content analysis was conducted on women's self-reports; five primary emotions and five main concerns were expressed during their pregnancies.

"Anxious," "nervous," and "scared" were the most frequent emotions reported by these women. However, most women also included a positive emotion in their list, indicating the mixed emotions of their pregnancy experience. Eight categories of profound concerns were identified: "losing another baby," "overall health of the baby," "emotional stability of self," "impact of another loss on my future," "lack of support from others," "fear of bad news," "own impact on the baby," and "worries never end." Responses of currently pregnant women as compared with women retrospectively reporting on their last pregnancy experiences were essentially similar.

Women pregnant after a previous perinatal loss are skeptical about pregnancy. Clinicians should be cognizant of the constellation of concerns and the simultaneous contrasting emotions experienced by these women in order to provide supportive prenatal care. Because the women's concerns are ongoing, responsive care should include asking about specific concerns throughout the pregnancy.