Parental Grief Response to Perinatal Death

Abstract

This study examined whether parents who had suffered perinatal loss experienced grief responses similar to other adult mourners and also examined the effect of several variables (sex, type of loss, length of time since loss, number of losses, and subsequent pregnancy) on the grief response. The Grief Experience Inventory was completed by 176 individuals, and data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis of variance. Parents who experienced perinatal losses suffered grief; the findings also suggest it is not the variables which influence the grief response as much as the perception that their loss is not understood. The only significant variable was the sex of the parent. Implications are discussed.