JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

At the beginning of the year 2020, mothers and fathers who experienced perinatal loss events found themselves experiencing further problems relating to the emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated difficulties for the Healthcare Centres in offering the bereavement care. Perinatal loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death) is an unexpected and complex life event that negatively affects a couple's life: the child dies and the couple's family generative project is abruptly interrupted. Perinatal loss is a painful and traumatic experience that can cause grief and affective disorders for the parental couple, such as true mourning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown measures of medical Healthcare Centres and the social distancing for the prevention of contagion made relationships between people very difficult. Limited access to bereavement care in health services is a risk factor for complicated grief, such as unresolved grief.

Objective:

The main aims of this study are: to investigate how the impact of Covid-19 affected mothers and fathers who went through perinatal loss during the COVID-19 pandemic; to verify how and if these traumatic experiences can lead to a crisis of faith, thus reducing the chances of resorting to this as a coping mechanism; to identify the potential predictors of developments in complicated grief; to investigate which psychosocial factors can negatively affect the mourning process.

Methods:

This longitudinal observational research study is structured with a mixed-method design, with a quantitative and qualitative section. It will include a sample of parents who had an experience of perinatal loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are two phases: a baseline and a three-month follow-up.

Results:

This protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Psychological Research, University of Padova, and by the Institutional Ethics Board of the Spedali Civili of Brescia, Italy. The recruitment and data collection are underway.

Conclusions:

This multicenter study will make a substantial contribution towards the understanding of the psychological processes related to perinatal loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will promote mourning and interventions for bereavement care to prevent the risk of complicated grief.