Psychosocial Aspects of Gestational Grief in Women Undergoing Infertility Treatment: A Systematic Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence

Michelle Herminia Mesquita de Castro, Carolina Rodrigues Mendonça, Matias Noll, Fernanda Sardinha de Abreu Tacon and Waldemar Naves do Amaral
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Michelle Herminia Mesquita de Castro: Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Brazil
Carolina Rodrigues Mendonça: Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Brazil
Matias Noll: Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Brazil
Fernanda Sardinha de Abreu Tacon: Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Brazil
Waldemar Naves do Amaral: Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Brazil

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Women undergoing assisted reproduction treatment without being able to become pregnant, and experiencing pregnancy loss after assisted reproduction, are triggering factors for prolonged grief and mourning. This review aims to investigate the psychosocial aspects of gestational grief among women who have undergone infertility treatment. We searched the databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Lilacs for works published up to 5 March 2021. The outcomes analyzed were negative and positive psychosocial responses to gestational grief among women suffering from infertility and undergoing assisted human reproduction treatment. Eleven studies were included, which yielded 316 women experiencing infertility who were undergoing treatment. The most frequently reported negative psychosocial manifestations of grief response were depression (6/11, 54.5%), despair or loss of hope/guilt/anger (5/11, 45.5%), anxiety (4/11, 36.4%), frustration (3/11, 27.3%), and anguish/shock/suicidal thoughts/isolation (2/11, 18.2%). Positive psychosocial manifestations included the hope of becoming pregnant (4/6, 66.6%) and acceptance of infertility after attempting infertility treatment (2/6, 33.3%). We identified several negative and positive psychosocial responses to gestational grief in women experiencing infertility. Psychological support before, during, and after assisted human reproduction treatment is crucial for the management of psychosocial aspects that characterize the grief process of women experiencing infertility who become pregnant and who lose their pregnancy. Our results may help raise awareness of the area of grief among infertile women and promote policy development for the mental health of bereaved women.

Keywords: grief; fetal death; abortion; spontaneous; psychological wellbeing; infertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13143-:d:701230

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