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. 2024 Jun;28(6):1103-1112.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03894-z. Epub 2024 Jan 25.

Short Term Coping-Behaviors and Postpartum Health in a Population-Based Study of Women with a Live Birth, Stillbirth, or Neonatal Death

Kaitlyn K Stanhope  1 , Jeff R Temple  2 , Lauren Christiansen-Lindquist  3 , Donald Dudley  4 , Barbara J Stoll  5 , Michael Varner  6 , Carol J R Hogue  3
Affiliations

Short Term Coping-Behaviors and Postpartum Health in a Population-Based Study of Women with a Live Birth, Stillbirth, or Neonatal Death

Kaitlyn K Stanhope et al. Matern Child Health J. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Responding to the National Institutes of Health Working Group's call for research on the psychological impact of stillbirth, we compared coping-related behaviors by outcome of an index birth (surviving live birth or perinatal loss - stillbirth or neonatal death) and, among individuals with loss, characterized coping strategies and their association with depressive symptoms 6-36 months postpartum.

Methods: We used data from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network follow-up study (2006-2008) of 285 individuals who experienced a stillbirth, 691 a livebirth, and 49 a neonatal death. We conducted a thematic analysis of coping strategies individuals recommended following their loss. We fit logistic regression models, accounting for sampling and inverse probability of follow-up weights to estimate associations between pregnancy outcomes and coping-related behaviors and, separately, coping strategies and probable depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale > 12) for those with loss.

Results: Compared to those with a surviving live birth and adjusting for pre-pregnancy drinking and smoking, history of stillbirth, and age, individuals who experienced a loss were more likely to report increased drinking or smoking in the two months postpartum (adjusted OR: 2.7, 95% CI = 1.4-5.4). Those who smoked or drank more had greater odds of probable depression at 6 to 36 months postpartum (adjusted OR 6.4, 95% CI = 2.5-16.4). Among those with loss, recommended coping strategies commonly included communication, support groups, memorializing the loss, and spirituality.

Discussion: Access to a variety of evidence-based and culturally-appropriate positive coping strategies may help individuals experiencing perinatal loss avoid adverse health consequences.

Keywords: Depression; Fetal death; Grief; Postpartum.

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