Counselling can provide a safe space to talk about feelings following miscarriage that might not feel acceptable, says our member Sarah Wheatley.

While more than one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage, Sarah says that, for a number of reasons, it is often not spoken about.

She says miscarriage can impact on relationships and can lead to a whole range of personal feelings from grief to isolation, from anger to shame.

Sarah said: 鈥淐ounselling can provide space to look at all these aspects and a safe place to talk about feelings that maybe don鈥檛 feel acceptable in the outside world.鈥�

Research

Sarah was speaking as reveals that one in six women experience long-term post-traumatic stress (PTSD) following miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.

Scientists at聽Imperial College London聽and聽KU Leuvenin Belgium looked into the psychological impact of early miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy on聽more than 650 women.

Published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the study found that one month following pregnancy loss, nearly a third of women (29%) had PTSD symptoms, one in four (24%) experienced moderate to severe anxiety, and 11% moderate to severe depression.

Nine months later, 18% of women had PTSD, 17% moderate to severe anxiety, and 6% moderate to severe depression.

Sarah said that when people are bereaved there is often help available, but that people who experience a miscarriage can be isolated with little or no support for their grieving.

Isolation

鈥淨uite often, family members, friends or work are not aware,鈥� said Sarah, who runs Birth and Beyond, in Edinburgh, which offers counselling for聽pregnant women and mothers.

鈥淵ou may not have talked about trying for a baby, because it is a very personal thing, and it can be very hard to bring up a conversation when people don鈥檛 know.

鈥淭here can be a lot of isolation because there are not many places to talk about it.鈥�

Sarah said she has supported people who had experienced multiple miscarriages who feel that they cannot talk about it for fear of boring people.

鈥淚f you are surrounded by people who are having babies or are pregnant it can put a distance in your relationship,鈥� Sarah said. 鈥淚n my experience, there are feelings like jealousy or anger. It might feel unfair.

鈥淚t might not feel okay to have these emotions. You might feel like a horrible person, but counselling can be a safe space to talk about them.鈥�

Counselling

She added: 鈥淐ounselling can also create a space for grief. It can be hard to find space for that in the outside world.

鈥淪ome of the language used by professionals can be unhelpful. They might see things in a medical way and don鈥檛 talk about the baby, which doesn鈥檛 allow for grief.

鈥淎nother of the things it can be really helpful to talk about in counselling is the visceral experience. It might feel shameful to talk about the physical aspect. Embarrassment, physical pain and the feeling of being exposed can all be potentially traumatising.

鈥淔or somebody who has had a miscarriage, there鈥檚 maybe a need to take medication to make sure it happens properly, and they might be trying to carry on with their day-to-day life and having to deal with the impact.鈥�

聽Sarah added: 鈥淭hat safe space to work through all of these feelings can really help.鈥� 聽

To talk to a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist about pregnancy-related issues, visit our聽Therapist directory.