When Death Precedes Birth: The Embodied Experiences of Women with a History of Miscarriage or Stillbirth—A Phenomenological Study Using Artistic Inquiry

Abstract

Miscarriage and stillbirth are more prevalent than socially perceived and have often been discussed in nursing and medicine literature as solely a medical event to be managed, not a death to be mourned. Social silence, ambiguity surrounding the nature of what was lost, and a painful experience of having no right to mourn are common experiences faced by women with a history of miscarriage or stillbirth. While more recent psychiatry and counseling research has uncovered the extent of grief, trauma, and psychosocial impact following miscarriage and stillbirth, very few studies have sought to understand the bodily experience of living with this history. This phenomenological research study sought to understand and describe the embodied experiences of women who have had a miscarriage or stillbirth. A sample of three participants individually engaged in a movement elicitation procedure followed by a semi-structured verbal interview. Artistic inquiry methods (Hervey in Artistic inquiry in dance/movement therapy: Creative alternatives for research, Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL, 2000) were integrated throughout the data analysis procedure (Moustakas in Phenomenological research methods, Sage Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1994) to enhance the understanding of each woman’s current, lived-body experience. As a result, five universal themes emerged: Momentum of new life; Stuck in emptiness; Where is my body and where am I?; We go together; and Love does not forget. These themes are supported by the extant literature and the author suggests that the results from this study may be used to inform the integration and practice of dance/movement therapy interventions in miscarriage and stillbirth bereavement counseling and future dance/movement therapy research studies.