Emotional Effects of a Miscarraige

Between 12-15% of pregnancies end in a first trimester, recognizable pregnancy loss. This may be a spontaneous miscarriage or a "missed miscarriage" requiring a D&C. Because this type of loss is so common, it is often underestimated as a source of emotional problems. It may or may not be surprising that rates of depression are reported as high as 22-55% in the year following a miscarriage. Grief, anger, anxiety and panic are also reactions following a miscarriage.

The greatest contributor to emotional reaction is that a woman looks at the early pregnancy as part of herself and when it is lost, there is an emptiness, searching and incompleteness feeling because the fetus is not viewed as a separate being. Also, the connection to the fetus is much stronger for the woman than for her partner and there is a great difference in the intensity of the grieving process between the mother and father. A woman becomes isolated because of this and often has no emotional support for her feelings. Even the usual social rituals of a death notice, a funeral, and friends offering sympathy are absent because very few people usually know of the event. This prevents accepting the reality of the loss. If there was any ambivalence about the pregnancy in the first place guilt becomes a major component of the grieving process. The highest risk time for depression is the first 12 weeks after a pregnancy loss. Risk factors for developing clinical depression include previous depression, the further along in pregnancy that the loss occurred, a history of substance or alcohol abuse, a poor support system and a history of poor coping skills.

I had a miscarriage about a year ago, I was 19 at the time and it wasn't planned. Although I was young I was still extremely excited to bring some one new into my life and future. I ended up losing the baby when I was 2 months along and it broke my heart. I felt like a failure as a women. What made it more difficult to handle was the fact that my boyfriend didn't understand why I was so upset. He kept saying it's normal and it happens all the time for the first pregnancy. That's not what I wanted to hear. When a woman loses a child she needs her partner to be supportive. It's not an easy thing to go through.