TY - JOUR
T1 - Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Perinatal Grief
AU - Bennett, Shannon M.
AU - Ehrenreich-May, Jill
AU - Litz, Brett T.
AU - Boisseau, Christina L.
AU - Barlow, David H.
PY - 2012/2/1
Y1 - 2012/2/1
N2 - Perinatal loss, typically defined as fetal death beyond 20. weeks gestation through infant death 1-month postpartum, is a potentially traumatizing experience for parents occurring in approximately 1% of births in the United States. Although many women recover, 15% to 25% have enduring grief-related symptomatology and functional impairment. Perinatal grief is a unique bereavement experience, but clinical resources for detecting and treating severe perinatal grief are rare and interventions are largely without empirical support. We developed and pilot tested a cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting the psychological and behavioral sequelae of perinatal bereavement. To initially evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention, 5 women who suffered a perinatal loss were randomized to a 2-week, 4-week, or 6-week baseline period in a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design. In most cases, after the respective baseline periods, there was a steady decline in reported grief symptoms. These gains were largely maintained at a 6-week follow-up assessment. This study provides initial evidence in support of future research and clinical efforts tailoring cognitive behavioral interventions to meet the specific needs of women who experience perinatal loss.
AB - Perinatal loss, typically defined as fetal death beyond 20. weeks gestation through infant death 1-month postpartum, is a potentially traumatizing experience for parents occurring in approximately 1% of births in the United States. Although many women recover, 15% to 25% have enduring grief-related symptomatology and functional impairment. Perinatal grief is a unique bereavement experience, but clinical resources for detecting and treating severe perinatal grief are rare and interventions are largely without empirical support. We developed and pilot tested a cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting the psychological and behavioral sequelae of perinatal bereavement. To initially evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention, 5 women who suffered a perinatal loss were randomized to a 2-week, 4-week, or 6-week baseline period in a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design. In most cases, after the respective baseline periods, there was a steady decline in reported grief symptoms. These gains were largely maintained at a 6-week follow-up assessment. This study provides initial evidence in support of future research and clinical efforts tailoring cognitive behavioral interventions to meet the specific needs of women who experience perinatal loss.
KW - Cognitive behavioral therapy
KW - Perinatal loss
KW - Prolonged grief
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856034480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84856034480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.01.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84856034480
VL - 19
SP - 161
EP - 173
JO - Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
JF - Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
SN - 1077-7229
IS - 1
ER -