Abstract
Perinatal loss, typically defined as fetal death beyond 20. weeks gestation through infant death 1-month postpartum, is a potentially traumatizing experience for parents occurring in approximately 1% of births in the United States. Although many women recover, 15% to 25% have enduring grief-related symptomatology and functional impairment. Perinatal grief is a unique bereavement experience, but clinical resources for detecting and treating severe perinatal grief are rare and interventions are largely without empirical support. We developed and pilot tested a cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting the psychological and behavioral sequelae of perinatal bereavement. To initially evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention, 5 women who suffered a perinatal loss were randomized to a 2-week, 4-week, or 6-week baseline period in a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design. In most cases, after the respective baseline periods, there was a steady decline in reported grief symptoms. These gains were largely maintained at a 6-week follow-up assessment. This study provides initial evidence in support of future research and clinical efforts tailoring cognitive behavioral interventions to meet the specific needs of women who experience perinatal loss.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 161-173 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Cognitive and Behavioral Practice |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2012 |
Funding
This research was partially supported by an F31 National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to the first author, and a grant from the Weil Foundation awarded to the first author.
Keywords
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Perinatal loss
- Prolonged grief
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology