Parents’ religious/spiritual beliefs, practices, changes and needs after pregnancy or neonatal loss—A Danish cross-sectional study

Abstract

This study describes religious/spiritual beliefs, practices, changes, and needs among parents bereaved by pregnancy or neonatal loss, and assess gender differences in religiosity/spirituality, in this population. A cross-sectional study using data from the Danish cohort Life After the Loss was conducted. Data were gathered from a questionnaire survey collected between January 2016 and December 2019. Among 713 respondents, several answered in the affirmative to items related to religious/spiritual beliefs and practices. Some experienced changes in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices, and some wished to talk to someone about these questions. Women reported higher levels of religiosity/spirituality than men.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The data was enacted according to the recommendations for good scientific practice (Innovationsstyrelsen, 2009). Data collection was permitted by The Danish Data Protection Agency until January 2025 (permit number 2008-58-0035, October 7, 2014). Participation was voluntary, anonymous, and confidential. No incentives or compensations were offered.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).