UCSF

For many women and their families, the news of a pregnancy is a time of joyous celebration. However, not all pregnancies end with the birth of a healthy baby. Some pregnancies end suddenly and unexpectedly and often leave women struggling to make sense of the loss. Society often celebrates pregnancy and birth yet ignores the silence that follows pregnancy loss, which results in an emotional burden for both the women and their family members. Most studies note that 15 to 25 percent of women will experience a pregnancy loss (the loss of a fetus or infant through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or stillbirth) at some point in their childbearing years. However, few studies examine the experience of pregnancy loss from the perspective of Latina women and even fewer from other members of the immediate family. This qualitative grounded theory study explored the experience of pregnancy loss for Latina women and their family members and how they integrated the loss into the life of their family. Women and their family members provided first person accounts of their experience with pregnancy loss from miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy all of which occurred before 13 weeks gestation. Interviews, field notes, memos were the primary sources of data. Participants included mothers (n=7), fathers (n=3), mothers and mothers-in-law of the women (n=5), and one mother's sister from nine families. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 57 years. All participants lived in the Central Valley of CA at both the time of the interview and at the time of the loss. Interviews occurred six months to nine years following the loss. Suffering in solitude distinguished the central aspect of the participants' experience that began with the realization that the pregnancy was in jeopardy. Their suffering continued over time following the loss of their baby. Support from friends and family inversely diminished over time, contributing to the women's suffering. Negative encounters with HCPs furthered their anguish. Aspects of Latino culture (pressure to bear children, family communication patterns of keeping things private, and the need to protect one another from emotional distress) also contributed to suffering in solitude. Living in silence was the eventual outcome for both women and their family members.