The Grief of Sids Parents and their Understanding of Each Other's Responses

Abstract

This article reports on a survey of sixty-one parents (including 27 couples) who had recently experienced the loss of an infant to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Data were collected on parents' reactions to the death, things which helped with grief, sources of solace, and attitudes to another pregnancy. Some sets of questions were presented twice: in the first instance the respondent reported his/her own situation and in the second instance the respondent estimated his/her partner's situation. In some areas, respondents tended to over- or under-estimate their partner's situation. Reported grief reactions and solace seeking were similar for both parents although women generally scored higher on these measures than men. More women than men wanted another pregnancy soon, while men worried more about another pregnancy than did women. It is suggested that an understanding of areas of difference may be important for SIDS parents and for practitioners who work to facilitate the grieving process.