Miscarriage and mental disorders

Miscarriage and mental disorders
SpecialtyPsychiatry
Articles related to
Pregnancy and mental health
Overview

Mental disorders can be a consequence of miscarriage or early pregnancy loss.[1][2] Even though women can develop long-term psychiatric symptoms after a miscarriage, acknowledging the potential of mental illness is not usually considered.[3] A mental illness can develop in women who have experienced one or more miscarriages after the event or even years later.[4][1] Some data suggest that men and women can be affected up to 15 years after the loss.[5] Though recognized as a public health problem, studies investigating the mental health status of women following miscarriage are still lacking.[5] Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop in women who have experienced a miscarriage.[6][5][7] Risks for developing PTSD after miscarriage include emotional pain, expressions of emotion, and low levels of social support.[5] Even if relatively low levels of stress occur after the miscarriage, symptoms of PTSD including flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, dissociation and hyperarousal can later develop.[8] Clinical depression also is associated with miscarriage.[9] Past responses by clinicians have been to prescribe sedatives.[10]

Recurring miscarriage may increase the incidence of intrusive thoughts in women and their partners.[5]

Miscarriage has an emotional effect and can also lead to psychological disorders. One disorder that can develop is primary maternal preoccupation. This psychological trauma can develop as a response to early pregnancy loss. Anxiety can also develop as a result of a miscarriage.[9] Women describe the medical treatment that they receive contributed their distress.[5]

Intrusive thoughts can develop after the loss.[3][8] Panic disorder and obsessive thoughts may also develop as a response to a miscarriage.[11] Men may experience pain and psychological effects but react by adopting "compensatory behaviours" such as increasing consumption of alcohol. Because men can consider their role to be supportive, they may not have their loss recognized.[12]

  1. ^ a b BMJ Best Practice. "Miscarriage". us.bestpractice.bmj.com. Ida Muslim, Jothi Doraiswamy, Acknowledgements. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
  2. ^ Randolph, Amber L.; Hruby, Brittaney T.; Sharif, Shaakira (4 April 2015). "Counseling Women Who Have Experienced Pregnancy Loss: A Review of the Literature". Adult Span Journal. 14 (1).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Christiansen2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Seftel 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Daugirdaitė, Viltė; Akker, Olga van den; Purewal, Satvinder (2015). "Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Termination of Pregnancy and Reproductive Loss: A Systematic Review". Journal of Pregnancy. 2015: 646345. doi:10.1155/2015/646345. ISSN 2090-2727. PMC 4334933. PMID 25734016.
  6. ^ International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. "What is the psychological impact of miscarriage? | FIGO". Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference kirs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Seftel 2006, p. 60.
  9. ^ a b Scheidt, CE (2007). "Trauerverarbeitung nach Prä- und Perinatalverlust (Mourning processing after pre-and perinatal loss)". Psychother Psych Med. 57 (1): 4–11. doi:10.1055/s-2006-951906. PMID 17357028. S2CID 77050200.
  10. ^ Quagliata, Emanuela (2013). Becoming Parents and Overcoming Obstacles : Understanding the Experience of Miscarriage, Premature Births, Infertility, and Postnatal Depression. City: Karnac Books. ISBN 9781782200185.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Due, Clemence; Chiarolli, Stephanie; Riggs, Damien W. (2017-11-15). "The impact of pregnancy loss on men's health and wellbeing: a systematic review". BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 17 (1): 380. doi:10.1186/s12884-017-1560-9. ISSN 1471-2393. PMC 5688642. PMID 29141591.