2016/02/07 by Anna C. Meyer, Constance Opoku, Katherine J. Gold
Medicine · Psychology · #Global Maternal and Child Health #Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health #Migration, Health and Trauma
paper · doi:10.1177/0030222816629165
crossref issued 2016/02/07 · crossref published 2016/02/07 · crossref published-online 2016/02/07 · openalex publication_date 2016/02/07 · crossref created 2016/07/15 · crossref published-print 2018/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31
Despite the high rate of infant mortality in Ghana, few studies have explored the maternal experience of infant loss and the perinatal grieving process. As part of a larger study that interviewed 153 mothers with a sick infant, this 1-year follow-up study reinterviewed eight mothers from the original cohort whose infant died since the study began. Mothers were queried about mental health, coping, and cultural issues related to the loss. Mothers were often discouraged from speaking or thinking about the death due to fear of psychological harm and impact on fertility. Primary coping mechanisms involved seeking support within the community and accepting the loss as God's will. Mothers desired more communication from health-care providers at the time of death. Despite the cultural norm of silent acceptance in the face of perinatal loss, intense maternal grief and desire to mourn may allow more opportunities for health-care workers to support bereaved mothers.