. Leila Nournorouzi; . Roghaiyeh Nourizadeh; . Sevil Hakimi; . Khalil Esmaeilpour; . Leila Najmi
Volume 12, Issue 7 , August 2022, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mother–child attachment is formed from early stages of pregnancy and peaks inthe second trimester and continues until after childbirth. The fetal or neonatal death ...
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BACKGROUND: Mother–child attachment is formed from early stages of pregnancy and peaks inthe second trimester and continues until after childbirth. The fetal or neonatal death as a tragic eventcould lead to the grief experience among parents, especially mothers. The present study aimed todetermine the effect of a coping program on mothers’ grief following perinatal deaths.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This trial study was performed on 56 women with the experience ofperinatal death during the last 1–3 months with a score of Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) ≥91, whowere referred to the health centers of Tabriz, Iran, from September 2020 to June 2021. Participantswere randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups through stratified blocking on thebasis of the stillbirth and neonatal death using Random Allocation Software with a block size of 4and 6 with a ratio of 1:1. The intervention group received a coping program individually during threesessions, once a week for 45–60 min. Data collection tools included the demographic and obstetriccharacteristic questionnaire and PGS. The data were analyzed using SPSS24. The groups werecompared through t‑test, and ANCOVA after adjusting the effect of baseline score.RESULTS: Prior to coping program, the mean standard deviation of the grief total score was108.32 (14.31) in the intervention group and 107.92 (6.65) in the control group (P = 0.89). Aftercoping program, the mean of the grief total score was 82.28 (16.72) in the intervention group and101.05 (12.78) in the control group. After adjusting the effect of baseline score and stratified factors,the mean of the grief total score in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in thecontrol group [Adjusted mean difference (AMD): −18.77, 95% confidence interval: −26.79 to − 10.75,P ≤ 0.001].CONCLUSION: Conducting a coping program during 1–3 months after experiencing perinatal deathsis effective in reducing the mothers’ grief reactions. It is recommended to evaluate the effectivenessof the same intervention after perinatal deaths for both parents with a longer follow‑up period infurther studies.BACKGROUND: Mother–child attachment is formed from early stages of pregnancy and peaks inthe second trimester and continues until after childbirth. The fetal or neonatal death as a tragic eventcould lead to the grief experience among parents, especially mothers. The present study aimed todetermine the effect of a coping program on mothers’ grief following perinatal deaths.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This trial study was performed on 56 women with the experience ofperinatal death during the last 1–3 months with a score of Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) ≥91, whowere referred to the health centers of Tabriz, Iran, from September 2020 to June 2021. Participantswere randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups through stratified blocking on thebasis of the stillbirth and neonatal death using Random Allocation Software with a block size of 4and 6 with a ratio of 1:1. The intervention group received a coping program individually during threesessions, once a week for 45–60 min. Data collection tools included the demographic and obstetriccharacteristic questionnaire and PGS. The data were analyzed using SPSS24. The groups werecompared through t‑test, and ANCOVA after adjusting the effect of baseline score.RESULTS: Prior to coping program, the mean standard deviation of the grief total score was108.32 (14.31) in the intervention group and 107.92 (6.65) in the control group (P = 0.89). Aftercoping program, the mean of the grief total score was 82.28 (16.72) in the intervention group and101.05 (12.78) in the control group. After adjusting the effect of baseline score and stratified factors,the mean of the grief total score in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in thecontrol group [Adjusted mean difference (AMD): −18.77, 95% confidence interval: −26.79 to − 10.75,P ≤ 0.001].CONCLUSION: Conducting a coping program during 1–3 months after experiencing perinatal deathsis effective in reducing the mothers’ grief reactions. It is recommended to evaluate the effectivenessof the same intervention after perinatal deaths for both parents with a longer follow‑up period infurther studies.Keywords:Bereavement, grief, perinatal death, stillbirt
