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Psychosocial Implications of Stillborn Babies on Mother and Family: A Review from Tertiary Care Infirmary in India

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The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

When a mother loses a baby after the period of viability, there is no way to fathom her grief, neither any words, nor an explanation. It is an unexpected event. Stillbirth presents a situation where the early activation of the grief process primarily in mother is exacerbated by the circumstances surrounding the loss. It thus becomes imperative for the healthcare providers to evaluate the significance of parent’s perception on the loss and the factors contributing to it before the initiation of therapy.

Objective

To evaluate the psychosocial impact of stillbirth among mothers and its contributing factors.

Materials and Methods

A WHO-funded prospective study was conducted in VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital from September 2015 to August 2016 on all women who gave birth to a stillborn baby, using a questionnaire based on EPDS, after taking their written informed consent. Data were entered on the predesigned proforma and analyzed after applying Chi-square test, keeping a null hypothesis value of 15% for all the variables.

Results

Out of the 709 women who delivered stillborn babies, 645 respondents, who willingly consented to participate, were included in the study. There was a significant relationship between psychosocial impact after perinatal loss and support from caregiver and family.

Conclusion

Mothers with stillborn fetuses should be screened for psychosocial impact and offered support when needed. Appropriate counseling by healthcare providers and continued psychosocial and emotional support by family members must be provided.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to all patients who willingly consented to be a part of the study. We are grateful to Mrs. Yogita Sharma as our clinical psychologist aid, Mrs. Seema Kush who helped us with the data entry and Mr. Manish Kumar for the technical support for the study.

Funding

This study was funded by World Health Organization (WHO) SEARO.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecoclogy, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Sheeba Marwah, Harsha Shailesh Gaikwad & Pratima Mittal

Authors
  1. Sheeba Marwah
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  2. Harsha Shailesh Gaikwad
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  3. Pratima Mittal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheeba Marwah.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. Ethical clearance was taken for the study by the then chairman of institute ethics committee, bearing no. IEC/SJH/VMMC/Project/September-14/3/323.

Informed Consent

It was taken from each participant enrolled in the study.

Additional information

Dr. Sheeba Marwah, MBBS, DNB OBGY, Assistant Professor in Department of OBGY, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. Dr. Harsha Shailesh Gaikwad, MBBS, MD OBGY, Professor in Department of OBGY, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. Dr. Pratima Mittal, Professor and Unit Head in Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.

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Marwah, S., Gaikwad, H.S. & Mittal, P. Psychosocial Implications of Stillborn Babies on Mother and Family: A Review from Tertiary Care Infirmary in India. J Obstet Gynecol India 69, 232–238 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-018-1173-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-018-1173-x

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