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. 2020 Apr;38(2):184-198.
doi: 10.1080/02646838.2019.1636944. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

Pregnancy happiness: implications of prior loss and pregnancy intendedness

Stacy Tiemeyer  1 , Karina Shreffler  2 , Julia McQuillan  3
Affiliations

Pregnancy happiness: implications of prior loss and pregnancy intendedness

Stacy Tiemeyer et al. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the interaction between pregnancy loss and pregnancy intentions on women's happiness about a subsequent pregnancy.Background: Anxiety about prior loss persist for women, even during subsequent pregnancies. It is unclear from prior research, whether a prior pregnancy loss shapes attitudes towards and feelings about a subsequent birth.Methods: Using data from the 2002-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we used logistic regression analyses to explore the implications of a prior pregnancy loss for happiness about a subsequent pregnancy that ends in a live birth. We compared births classified as on-time, mistimed, unwanted, and ambivalent.Results: Births were more likely to be characterised as on-time if they occurred following a pregnancy loss, and women were less likely to report being happy about a conception if they were ambivalent about the conception and experienced a previous loss. Overall, pregnancy loss alone was not associated with lower levels of happiness about a subsequent birth.Conclusions: Pregnancy loss can be a highly distressing experience, women's happiness about a subsequent pregnancy is not reduced due to prior pregnancy loss. Future research should explore why women who were ambivalent about pregnancy reported lower levels of happiness following a loss.

Keywords: Attitudes; miscarriage; mother/s; pregnancy; psychosocial factors.

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Figures

Figure. 1
Figure. 1
Probability of being happy about pregnancy by prior pregnancy loss and pregnancy intention
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Probability of being happy about pregnancy by prior pregnancy loss and by birth order
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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