Psychology

Throughout the years, abortion has remained one of the most controversial and most debated issues of this generation. In fact, millions upon millions of women all over the globe willingly submit themselves to this process in order to remove the baby growing inside their wombs. While many women chose to terminate pregnancy, there are those who lose their baby, without them even having a say on it. This natural process is referred to as spontaneous abortion.

Commonly referred to as miscarriage, this complication is pregnancy happens when the fetus is unable to survive prior or during the early part of pregnancy. It is usually caused by numerous factors. This includes chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal infection, uterine malformation and cervical problems among many others. In some cases, miscarriage occurs when the mother undergoes a strenuous physical or emotional situation.

Much like induced abortion, miscarriage also has an effect on the mother. Although women physically recuperate from miscarriage quickly, studies have shown that psychological recovery generally takes a longer period. The psychological and emotional process of recovery differs from one woman to another. Numerous women would easily get over it after a couple of months some on the other hand, grieve for more than a year.

Women who have experienced miscarriage would exhibit a myriad of emotions, which include sadness and even anger. Sadness for instance, is a common reaction for most mothers. Regardless of the time that the fetus lived in the womb, most mothers would show sadness as if the baby was born but died. Upon learning that a miscarriage has occurred, a woman may start to cry and show anguish over the lost of her potential baby. Sadness is even stronger when the woman really wanted to have a child. A reason behind this is because most mothers would start to bond with the fetus upon learning about the pregnancy. The sudden death of the unborn child would also mean shattered dreams for the mother. Most women would even go to the extent of picturing what their childs future would be like if he or she has been born. Some mothers would even give the unborn child a name.

Consequently, mothers who experienced miscarriage would prefer not to relate the incident to other people. Mentioning what happened he baby would prove to be too painful for the mother. Consequently, seeing or interacting to other pregnant women could also upset the mother. Thus, most would prefer to isolate themselves from the world and to other people.

Apart from sadness, some women would also have a feeling of anger. This is especially true when miscarriage could have been prevented. For example, a mother would feel anger towards herself because the miscarriage took place without her even knowing that she is pregnant. This may cause the woman to blame herself by saying that this incident could have been prevented if only she took better care of herself. Similarly, some women would also show hatred if another person directly or indirectly caused the miscarriage.

The psychological and emotional effects of spontaneous abortion were exhibited by a 33-year old woman named Lindy. For almost 2 years, she and her husband were trying to have a baby. In 2007, the couple found out that they will soon be parents. The excited would be parents started to prepare the arrival of their baby. This joy however was only short lived.

During her second month of pregnancy, Lindy suddenly experienced extreme cramping pains in her tummy. She immediately called her doctor but she was told that cramping is naturally during the first trimester of pregnancy. After an hour, Lindy went to the bathroom to discover that she was already bleeding. She was immediately brought to the emergency room only to find out that she had already lost her baby. She went home with her husband and blankly stared at the empty nursery room.

For five months, Lindy grieved for the lost of her unborn child. She constantly found herself staring in blank spaces or crying unceasingly. She also felt so alone and depressed. Although her husband is doing everything he can to comfort her, Lindy still felt this gnawing sadness in her heart. Lindy also refused to talk or see her friends and relatives. For her, talking or even thinking about the incident is enough to make her cry. There was even a point where she did not want to try to get pregnant again as there was this fear of having another miscarriage.

Her husband finally convinced her to see a therapist. After three months of session, Lindy started to accept the everything that happened. Lindy started to build a life again by focusing on her work and her husband. She started to let go of the past as she looks toward a brighter future. After 2 years, Lindy got pregnant again and eventually delivered a bouncing baby boy.

Much like Lindys story, miscarriage is indeed a painful experience for many women. Thus, it is only essential to seek support and help mothers who experienced miscarriage. One of the ways that could help them cope is to seek the help of medical doctor. Being aware of what caused the abortion would remove a small layer of sadness as it sheds light on what really happened. Similarly, the knowledge behind what caused the miscarriage gives a feeling of empowerment to the mother.

A support system from the womans family and friends is likewise, important. The family members and friends of the mother should show sympathy over what happened. Sometimes talking or simply being there allows the woman to see that she is not alone of during this painful and traumatic experience.

Apart from this, the mother may talk to other women who have also experienced miscarriage. Being or talking to someone who has the same experience could help ease the pain. Likewise, this would give the mother a hope that despite of everything that happened, there is still hope, and that she would soon bounce back.