Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes

Julia Marysia Caldwell; Pamela J. Meredith; Koa Whittingham; Jenny Ziviani; Trish Wilson

doi:10.1080/02646838.2023.2180142

Back

Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes

Julia Marysia Caldwell, Pamela J. Meredith, Koa Whittingham, Jenny Ziviani and Trish Wilson

Journal of reproductive and infant psychology, Vol.42(4), pp.653-667

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2023.2180142

PMID: 36800926

Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications

Files and links (2)

pdf

Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes855.60 kBDownload View

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomesView

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open

Metrics

Abstract

perinatal grief

pregnancy after loss

self-blame

Shame

social connectedness

Background Insecure adult attachment, shame, self-blame, and isolation following perinatal loss place bereaved women at risk of adverse psychological outcomes, which can impact child and family outcomes. To date, no research has considered how these variables continue to influence women’s psychological health in pregnancy subsequent to loss. Objective This study explored associations between prenatal psychological adjustment (less grief and distress) and adult attachment, shame, and social connectedness, in women pregnant after loss. Method Twenty-nine pregnant Australian women accessing a Pregnancy After Loss Clinic (PALC) completed measures of attachment styles, shame, self-blame, social connectedness, perinatal grief, and psychological distress. Results Four 2-step hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed adult attachment (secure/avoidant/anxious; Step 1), shame, self-blame, and social connectedness (Step 2) explained 74% difficulty coping, 74% total grief, 65% despair, and 57% active grief. Avoidant attachment predicted more difficulty coping and higher levels of despair. Self-blame predicted more active grief, difficulty coping, and despair. Social connectedness predicted lower active grief, and significantly mediated relationships between perinatal grief and all three attachment patterns (secure/avoidant/anxious). Conclusions Although avoidant attachment and self-blame can heighten grief in pregnancy after loss, focusing on social connectedness may be a helpful way for prenatal clinicians to support pregnant women during their subsequent pregnancy – and in grief.

Details

Title: Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes
Creators: Julia Marysia Caldwell - Southern Cross University
Pamela J. Meredith - University of Queensland
Koa Whittingham - University of Queensland
Jenny Ziviani - University of Queensland
Trish Wilson - Mater Mothers' Hospital
Publication Details: Journal of reproductive and infant psychology, Vol.42(4), pp.653-667
Publisher: Routledge
Identifiers: 991013097818302368
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Academic Unit: Faculty of Health
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Women pregnant after previous perinatal loss: relationships between adult attachment, shame, and prenatal psychological outcomes

Files and links (2)

Metrics

Abstract

Details

Southern Cross University Social media