In a group of 30 women who underwent induced delivery after they had been informed of a lethal fetal anomaly, 18 women reported that this was the outcome of a clear decision process and 12 reported that they had no choice. In contrast to findings in other research areas, the experience of having perceived control was not associated with lower grief scores three months after perinatal loss.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BreemhaarB.Van den BorneH. M. (1991) Effects of education and support for surgical patients: The role of perceived control. Patient Education and Counseling, 18, 199–210.
2.
LeporeS. J.EvansG. W.SchneiderM. L. (1992) Role of control and support in explaining the stress of hassles and crowding. Environment and Behavior, 24, 795–811.
3.
PotvinL.LaskerJ. N.ToedterL. J. (1989) Measuring grief: A short version of the Perinatal Grief Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 11, 29–45.
4.
SieberW. J.RodinJ.LarsonL.OrtegaS. (1991) Modulation of human natural killer cell activity by exposure to uncontrollable stress. Brain Behavior and Immunity, 6, 141–156.
