Women with recent pregnancy loss needed for study

As many as one-third of parents who experience the loss of a pregnancy may suffer from intense grief, resulting in anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Marianne Hutti, PhD, APRN, coordinator of the Women's Health-Family Nurse Practitioner Dual Major Program at the University of Louisville School of Nursing, is leading a study that will help nurses and physicians predict which individuals would benefit from intervention to cope with intense grief over the loss of a pregnancy.

Miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death within the first 28 days after birth are known as perinatal loss. Since an estimated 25 percent of all pregnancies are lost, more than one million families in the United States are affected each year. This grief can affect subsequent healthy pregnancies and place the mother at greater risk for postpartum depression after a subsequent pregnancy.

“Parents with intense grief usually recognize this event as the loss of a child, but those around them do not necessarily understand the event in those terms. That means these parents do not receive the same level of support and recognition of their grief as they may get when an older child dies," Hutti said.

This study will allow Hutti to complete the development of a screening tool, the Perinatal Grief Intensity Scale (PGIS), designed to help nurses and physicians accurately predict which parents will be in greatest need of counseling and follow-up after perinatal loss.

"This scale will help identify those parents, particularly women, who are most at risk of developing intense grief, and it will give nurses and physicians some direction in how to intervene and who needs additional support. We want to make sure that the women and men who are having intense grief get the follow-up that they need," Hutti said.

Women who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death within the past eight weeks are encouraged to participate in the study. Participants must be able to read and write English and be at least 18 years of age. The study involves taking two brief surveys, which can be sent electronically or by postal mail, and takes a total of 15-20 minutes to complete. Three months later, study participants will receive another copy of one of the same surveys, along with two additional brief surveys to complete. Investigators expect the study to be completed by June, 2016 and the PGIS scale to be available to practitioners shortly thereafter. Results will be shared with participants.

For information on participating in the study, email Marianne.hutti@louisville.edu.