Miscarriages can be devastating for women. Women become emotionally attached to their unborn babies and, in some cases, start buying things like cribs and toys for their baby to come. Yet when a woman loses her baby through a miscarriage, she can become emotionally distressed for a long period of time. Women often go through five different stages of grief after having a miscarriage.
Shock
The first stage that many women go through after experiencing a miscarriage is shock. Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California, states that in the first week or two after a miscarriage many women are still completely surprised and shocked that they lost the baby. Nobody plans on losing a baby, and since most women plan ahead for things like where they will give birth and what the baby's name will be, their whole life suddenly changes. The shock phase of grief tends to cause things like an inability to concentrate or communicate effectively.
Anger
The next stage of grief is anger. Memorial Hospital in Towanda, Pennsylvania, states that after a loss like a miscarriage, many women become angry. She may be angry at the world, at another person or even at God, for letting the miscarriage happen. In the anger phase, she may also feel jealous and angry towards other women who have young, healthy babies.
Guilt
Though most women have absolutely no control over whether or not they are going to miscarry the baby, women who do have miscarriages tend to experience guilt. Hoag Hospital states that any time a baby dies, the woman may feel guilty for not preventing the death. Guilt can be the hardest stage of grief to get over, since it causes women to feel powerless and at fault.
Depression
The next stage of grief related to miscarriages is depression. Hoag Hospital states that the depression stage is the one which lasts the very longest. Women often feel sad for days or weeks at a time, unable to think about anything happy. She may also feel isolated and alone. Depression can interfere with her ability to do important things like work. She may also have trouble sleeping or eating enough.
Acceptance
The final and most important stage of grief for women who have lost a baby to miscarriage is acceptance. In this stage, the woman starts to see some good in the world again and accepts that, though she lost her baby, her life will still continue. Finally in this recovery period, the sadness and anger begin to subside.
