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We Need More Research About the Psychological Effects of Miscarriage
Experts are just now starting to study the true extent of bonding before birth
It is commonly estimated that one in four pregnancies fails to thrive, and ends spontaneously in a miscarriage — most before they have been revealed to the world, or even suggested by the hint of a pregnancy bump. This can be emotionally devastating. And yet despite its prevalence, we have been long unable to talk about the psychological impact of miscarriage in any adequate breadth or depth.
Until the 1980s, there was a tragic lack of research interest into the psychological and emotional impact of the loss of a baby during pregnancy or during or after birth. Women had long been expected to endure all sorts of pain and suffering as an intrinsic part of their reproductive lot, and the loss of a baby at any gestation was a part of this. But miscarriages were also silenced and ignored, because it was assumed that a woman couldn’t bond with her unborn baby in the way that she actually can and often does, as I know from my work as a psychotherapist. While it may have been conceded that a woman might be more upset if a baby died later on in gestation, it was long thought that she shouldn’t really grieve for a pregnancy that hadn’t confidently established itself.
