Relational Sequelae of Fetal Death During the First Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study on the Subjective Perceptions of the Relationship Between Mothers and Their Adult Subsequent Firstborn Children

Relational Sequelae of Fetal Death During the First Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study on the Subjective Perceptions of the Relationship Between Mothers and Their Adult Subsequent Firstborn Children

Saccardo C; Calvo V

Omega

2022

Adult; Female; Fetal; Death; Humans; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Pregnancy; Qualitative Research; adult; subsequent; firstborn; children; attachment; fetal; death

Perinatal loss may deeply affect the attachment relationships of mothers and their next-born children. The aim was to explore the subjective perceptions of mothers, who had fetal death during the first pregnancy, and their adult subsequent firstborn children regarding the impact of the perinatal loss on the mother-child relationship and children's self-perception. Fifteen mothers who experienced a fetal death during the first pregnancy and their adult subsequent firstborn children were interviewed. A Grounded Theory approach was used. Five main themes were identified: fetal death as a real loss producing prolonged grief; the importance of the communication about the dead sibling; creating and maintaining a relationship with the lost sibling; the mother-subsequent child relationship: between detachment and overprotection; significant effects of fetal death on adult subsequent children's self-perception. Results highlighted a deep impact of fetal death on the subsequent mother-child relationship, as perceived by both mothers and adult children.

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

October 2022 List