Have you ever had a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) or stillbirth, or do you know anyone who has? If so, how did you or your acquaintance cope with the loss? How did others react to it?
Do you think recognition of such losses through ceremonies or rituals would be helpful?
No a ceremony would not comfort such loss my husband and I had an abortion before we were married, it seemed we needed a little more experience and time with using birth control pills effectively. The Abortion almost tore us apart as I was in deep grief, feeling as if I was being followed by the grim reaper and he was too terrified to think or talk about it and for a while I kept quiet too thinking I could forget. Although we feel we made the right decision at the time
The experience of having an abortion was painful and scary. I felt alone in the surgical room, and by then I realized that I am doing one of the hardest things a woman can possibly do. After the abortion, I felt nothing emotionally until I attended
Historically perinatal loss such as stillborn is rarely a topic of discussion. (Avelin, Erlandsson, Hildingsson, & Rådestad, 2011). Stillborn loss was not viewed as an problem, and was expected for mothers to forget about the baby, and have another one, while siblings were told to forget about the baby and not talk about the loss (Avelin et al., 2011). Perinatal loss responses can be vary widely as it covers variety of loss from pregnancy to birth within a few weeks, but most often it is an unexpected loss for many families who typically do not know what to do, what to expect and how to handle grief (O’leary & Warland, 2013). Furthermore, there is very little information on Stillbirth experiences especially about men who lose their child(Bonnette & Broom, 2012). Experiencing the loss of a child can be very difficult and often complicate grief which can affect parents social well being (Kersting & Wagner, 2012). In pregnancies that follows a loss such as perinatal loss, it has been found that parents experience high levels of psychological distress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. (O’leary & Warland, 2013; Kersting & Wagner, 2012)
The only terms used by the scientific community to refer to psychological pain of abortion are those associated with anxiety, depression or some corollaries of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Indeed, testing protocols and treatment of PTSD can be used only if the symptoms provide clear manifestations in a period close to the event. However, the manifestation of suffering of abortion is often part time, or even cannot come to the surface at the approach of its own death. Encysted psychological suffering will then wait for an event occur and strong for the person to make the connection between past events and the suffering of abortion. Some testimonials even mention the period immediately following
After a woman has an abortion, the chances are three to four times higher of the mother having a miscarriage because of damage to the uterus. There is a higher chance of the mother dying from having an abortion than there is from her dying from natural childbirth. Even though after an abortion the mother feels relief that the ordeal is over, feelings of “numbness” soon set in on their emotions. It’s not any different from what soldiers feel after being in the midst of war. It has been found in a study of 500 aborted women, 50 percent of them were dealing with negative feelings and 10 percent had “serious psychiatric complications.”
A relative of mine had an abortion at a young age and it changed her life forever. Now as a mother to her children she always thinks of the child she would've had and who would be forever missing. Although many people are against abortion, it's is up to the women, like my aunt to decide the best option for her and her future.
Many women who have had an abortion say that they have been diagnosed with clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder also known as PTSD. They have also taken into substance abuse, using drugs and alcohol to escape the fact that they have prematurely ended a life. Along with all of that many women almost all have their relationships suffer because of their abortion, it’s a very sad thought that all of these lives have been impacted with one silly decision to not be careful and to not be responsible. After this traumatizing event many women put up mental walls to shut out their friends and family that only want to help and love them, because they’re afraid of what they may think of their decision to end a life before it ever began. Spiritual relationships suffer after an abortion, many women and even the men associated with the women feel uncomfortable and unworthy in the eyes of their god and therefore only losing more hope for an already bleak
It’s understood that the shock of not knowing who you could have raised and loved is devastating, a reason why certain hospitals will give the parents an option to spend time with the deceased child in an attempt at offering closure. Additionally, for some people it's not only the loss of the child they are grieving for, but the hopes and dreams they had for it. This type of loss has similar shocking effects to those who have had a miscarriage. Both miscarriages and fetal deaths can affect the
In the following article we will argue wheatear "abortion" should be practice or should not be practice. It is a subject that concerns all of us; especially women since are the ones expose to this harsh procedure. The argument "Electoral Politics and Abortion" was published in fall of 2003, by Laurie Shrage. During the year of the Publications Argument, many controversies arouse from this delicate subject, creating new groups like pro- choice and pro-life. Values, belief, and politics ideals were not clear enough. "The abortion debate is in tractable at this time because the two major political parties in the United States exploit this issue to pursue electronically majorities" (67). The author's theory sounds logical
The effects that impact on anyone that has ever had a miscarriage, is dramatic and as well dealing with the emotional and psychological effects it causes. Not only for a short period of time that this will go on, but it can last all the way till the next time to try to conceive again or for the rest of a women’s life if they never conceive. A woman can develop anxiety from it and the fear of never being able to ever have a baby of her own has a big impact on her relationship with her spouse and friends that have kids of their own. It is not easy going to baby shower after baby shower seeing all the other children walking around and seeing your best friend carrying her first at nine months pregnant. As we all grow up and move on other relationships,
For my final paper I have decided to do a on the ethical and controversial issue of abortion. In this report I will cover both sides of the abortion issue. I will summarize the stands of both Pro-Life advocates and Pro-Choice, by presenting arguments from organizations, authors, and journal articles from each side. As well as give a brief history on abortion and a look at the laws that govern this issue not only here at home but around the world. In conclusion of my report I will give my views on the issue and on which side of the fence my beliefs put me on. So lets begin.
This article discusses the impact of a miscarriage or stillborn birth from the male perspective. This study included interviewing 14 male partners who were currently in a support group for pregnancy loss. Findings concluded that men in the study did not rationalize or intellectualize the loss, but responded emotionally by reflecting on their grief. Many of the participants blamed themselves for the pregnancy loss and felt that they had to process their grief alone. Many fathers also felt that the community devalued their loss and bereavement, therefor making it difficult for men to heal and fully grieve after the loss.
Losing a child is one of the most severe losses, even worse than losing a parent. After the death of the child, parents then need to grieve. Some parents grieve a completely different way than each other. This can cause a lot of problems and stress in the family and sometimes the family is unable to resolve these problems. The loss of a fetus or an infant is very difficult. The loss of a fetus is a little different because they have not lived very long as a separate person, the person parents do not have much to absorb in of the child. They have to adapt back to their life and realize that their baby is never going to be with them again. Losing an infant puts a lot of stress on a family for years. When some mothers lose an infant, their
In today’s decision, this case was brought because Governor Mike Pence of Indiana signed House Bill 1337 making it illegal for women to seek an abortion on a discriminatory basis on the grounds of gender, race, or disability. Specifically, the law: Prohibited a person from performing an abortion if the person knows that the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion solely because of: (1) the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the fetus; or (2) a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability. The day after Governor Pence signed the law, Planned Parenthood challenged the law in a Federal District Court claiming it was unconstitutional. The District Court agreed and issued an immediate
Pregnancy is meant to be an exciting happy time; not only for the mother, but for the whole family and friends. So, when a woman miscarries, the psychological impact/ trauma is unbearable and very devastating. The experience and feeling of loss, grief, guilt, and shame caused by a miscarriage can take a toll on everyone. These feelings can also turn into a major depression in some women and possible questions of what could have I done differently, or feeling like you had a hand it in can start to surface.