Bereaved parents’ experiences of baby loss stigma

Despite advances in support following baby loss over recent years, the stigma associated with the death of a baby continues to negatively affect bereaved parents worldwide. The present review aimed to systematically explore bereaved parents’ experiences of baby loss stigma. Four electronic databases were searched, and additional papers were sought through citation searching. A total of 22 papers were included and three themes were identified taking a meta-ethnographic approach: (1) Bereaved parents are silenced and alone in their grief, (2) Mothers are blamed for their child’s death and (3) Parents’ identities are questioned and changed. A line of argument synthesis outlined the need to reframe baby loss as a public rather than a personal issue with help needed to break stigma and reduce feelings of social isolation. Implications were made for how professionals and nonprofessionals can help to break the stigma which continues to surround baby loss today

Argument (complex analysis) · Cognitive reframing · Coping (psychology) · Feeling · Grief · Stigma (botany) · Family Support in Illness · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse

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