This study is important to the families of women who have lost a baby, since it is so often assumed that they get over the event quickly, yet as shown here, many do not.
Women who experience depression and anxiety after a miscarriage can continue to experience these symptoms even if they subsequently go on to have a healthy child. The findings, based on the Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) at the University of Bristol and published online today [Thursday 3 March] by the British Journal of Psychiatry , show no evidence that mental health problems associated with miscarriage or stillbirth end with the birth of a healthy baby. Instead, women may continue to experience symptoms for several years after the postnatal period. The researchers studied 13,133 pregnant women involved in ALSPAC and asked them to report the number of previous miscarriages and stillbirths they had experienced. They were assessed for symptoms of depression and anxiety twice during their pregnancy (at 18 and 32 weeks), and four times after giving birth (at eight weeks, eight months, 21 months and 33 months). The majority of women (10,310) reported no miscarriages. 2,823 women (21 per cent) reported having one or more previous miscarriages.
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