When Your Client's Baby Dies

SUMMARY

Although pregnancy loss is not an uncommon occurrence, most therapists are unprepared to help clients who experience this loss. This article provides a therapist starter kit including: (1) current hospital standards of practice and services, (2) time lines for common grief reactions, (3) considering a subsequent pregnancy, (4) predictors for grief outcomes, (5) theories about the damage and recovery from perinatal loss, (6) effective therapeutic interventions and (7) issues of therapist countertransference. The entire discussion is set in a context of gender differences, i.e., how making and losing a baby is a very particular experience for each member of the couple.

Key Words:

• Pregnancy
• miscarriage
• stillbirth
• couple therapy
• grief