Stillbirths devastate parents’ confidence as mothers struggle to differentiate between living and dead children

The trauma of a stillbirth can leave parents afraid to prepare for the birth of a subsequent baby and can damage self-esteem and confidence in parenthood and child rearing.

This devastating psychological legacy, as well as the direct and indirect costs of stillbirth, is examined in a seminal paper published in The Lancet entitled ‘Stillbirths: Economic and psychosocial consequences’.

Among the findings from the wealth of international studies examined are that women tend to report volatile emotional stages following a stillbirth, with some struggling to differentiate their dead baby’s identity from their subsequently-born live baby.