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Chapter 22 - “A Little Bit Pregnant”: Counseling for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

from V - Special Topics in Fertility Counseling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

By
Rayna D. Markin
Edited by
Sharon N. Covington
Sharon N. Covington
Affiliation:
Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, MD
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Summary

In this chapter, common psychological experiences or consequences of recurrent pregnancy loss are discussed for affected women and their partners, with a focus on the experience of pregnancy after or during the course of recurrent loss. In this chapter, recurrent pregnancy loss is understood as a series of ongoing traumatic events and losses. Common experiences during pregnancies after loss, such as emotional cushioning and pregnancy-related anxiety, are conceptualized as understandable reactions to trauma and loss. Consequently, guidelines for helping patients to process trauma and loss and to mitigate associated symptoms of emotional cushioning and pregnancy-related anxiety are discussed, with a focus on the therapeutic relationship as an agent of change in individual and couples counseling.

Keywords

recurrent pregnancy losspregnancies after lossemotional cushioningpregnancy-related anxietyreproductive trauma
Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide , pp. 225 - 233
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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