Perinatal Bereavement, Trauma, & Loss

The perinatal period (from antepartum through to the end of the first postpartum year) is a critical and often joyous time for families. However, for some this period can be marked by bereavement, trauma, and/or loss, which can have profound emotional, psychological, and psycho-social impacts. Bereavement, trauma, and loss can take many forms, including, but not limited to: infertility, pregnancy loss, perinatal death, confronting childhood abuse or neglect, reproductive coercion, intimate partner violence, relationship breakdown, complex family dynamics, traumatic birth experiences, obstetric violence, children being removed into care, and coinciding traumatic stressors such as forced migration or armed conflict. This Research Topic seeks to explore the multifaceted aspects associated with the breadth of women’s experiences.

We invite contributions which explore the varied dimensions of perinatal bereavement, trauma, and loss and provide a comprehensive understanding of the emotional, psychological, and psycho-social impacts of these experiences. We welcome evaluations of promising interventions and investigations of effective coping mechanisms. We especially encourage the submission of qualitative studies, studies which demonstrate meaningful input from patient and public involvement and engagement initiatives or women with lived experience, and studies sharing the perspectives of women from historically marginalised groups or those with voices seldom heard in research.

Topics of interest will include, but are not limited to:
- Detection and measurement of mental health conditions in women experiencing perinatal bereavement, trauma, and loss.
- Cultural understandings of perinatal bereavement, trauma, and loss.
- Psychological, psycho-social, and/or emotional impacts including the spectrum of responses following perinatal bereavement, trauma, or loss.
- Long-term psychological effects of perinatal bereavement, trauma, or loss, and the impact of these experiences on women’s mental health, including longitudinal studies.
- Responses to and interventions for perinatal bereavement, trauma, and loss, in diverse settings.
- Multidisciplinary responses to disclosures of abuse, coercion, violence and neglect during the perinatal period.
- Social support, societal stigma, and cultural expectations, and their impacts on disclosure of mental health symptoms after perinatal bereavement, trauma, or loss.
- Evaluations of programmes and interventions, including training and education for healthcare professionals, targeted psychosocial interventions, and innovations in perinatal care.
- Impact of perinatal bereavement, trauma, and/or loss on fathers, partners, and non-gestational parents, siblings, grandparents, and wider family networks.
- Research and methodological approaches (including qualitative research, ethical considerations, patient and public involvement and engagement, and future innovations).

Keywords: bereavement, perinatal, loss, trauma, Motherhood, Parenting, Reproductive Justice, Abuse, Violence, Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum, Infertility, Conflict

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.