Stillbirth: Effect and tips for quick recovery

I, Holiness Paul from Nigeria was in the hospital interacting with patients in the OPD and checking their vital signs.

I later went into the wards to interact with in-patients and I noticed a woman who looked so sad.

I approached her, insisted to know why she look depressed. I was told she undergo C/S as a result of womb ruptured and lost her baby.I felt so sad though I tried to speak some words of encouragement and offered her my condolences.

Stillbirth is traumatizing to every parents, having to grief over the lost of a child affect both physical and emotional well-being of parent.

Women that experienced stillbirth tend to suffer from posttraumatic growth, perinatal grief and posttraumatic stress symptoms for a long time.
For a mother, having to lost a baby you long to hold in your arms can be heartbreaking . Therefore the subsequent support, care , love and counsel she received will affect her approach to life, self esteem and identity.

Psychological effect of Stillbirth on Mothers

(a) Feeling guilty:
Any mother that experienced stillbirth may think she is the reason her child died, that maybe there's something she would have done.

( b) Sadness:
Happiness is far from her for a period of time, until she is healed.

(c) Change in appetite:
A woman that had stillbirth may either eat less or eat more but not getting satisfied

(d) Isolation:
A woman that gave birth to a dead baby may want to be left alone, She will avoid being in the midst of people especially nursing mothers.

(e) Loss of self-esteem:
A stillbirth mother may not believe in herself again, She may feel something is wrong with her medically.

(F) Feelings of committing suicide or hurting oneself.

Conclusion
Experience of stillbirth tends to change parents’ approach to life and death, identity self-esteem, and sense of control in subsequent pregnancy, parenthood and childrearing. Inorder to speed the recovery of a woman who experience stillbirth, We as an individual, group, society need to render helping hands, care, support, comfort and words of encouragement.