“How do I navigate the joy and the grief at the same time?” – Mothers' postnatal experiences following care in a specialist pregnancy after loss clinic: A qualitative study

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dc.contributor.authorBeaumont, Joanna
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Debbie M.
dc.contributor.authorBailey, Emilie
dc.contributor.authorBarron, Rebecca
dc.contributor.authorTomlinson, Emma
dc.contributor.authorMurphy, Margaret
dc.contributor.authorHeazell, Alexander E. P.
dc.contributor.funderKallipateira Moorhouse Foundation
dc.contributor.funderMitchell Family Charitable Trust
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-27T15:50:04Z
dc.date.available2026-05-27T15:50:04Z
dc.date.issued2026-05-04
dc.description.abstractBackground In a subsequent pregnancy after perinatal death, mothers likely experience anxiety, depression, grief, and post-traumatic stress. Personalised antenatal care at a specialist clinic supports mothers; however, little is known about their experiences after birth. Mothers may have anxiety and fear postnatally, and face challenges transitioning from specialist antenatal care to standard postpartum care, however this transition remains unstudied. Aim To explore mothers’ postnatal experiences in a subsequent pregnancy after previously experiencing perinatal death. Methods A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews of 28 mothers 3–6 months after birth. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Three overarching themes were identified: ‘End of personalised care’ which included two subthemes describing mothers losing connections to trusted healthcare professionals, and changes to the quality of care. ‘Navigating emotions’ which consisted of three subthemes describing how mothers experienced high anxiety; fluctuations between grief, joy, and guilt; and how emotions impacted their partner. ‘The responses of others’ which described the impact of other people on mothers’ postnatal experience; which included three subthemes: the taboo of baby loss, justification that the baby was not a replacement, and gestures of acknowledgment. Discussion Many mothers who have previously experienced perinatal death experience grief, anxiety and isolation postnatally. The quality of postnatal maternity care varies and many mothers feel unsupported by standard maternity services after previously receiving supportive specialist antenatal care. Conclusion Postnatal maternity care pathways should be developed and resourced to deliver trauma-informed care to parents who have previously experienced perinatal death.en
dc.description.sponsorshipThis study was funded by a grants from the Kallipateira Moorhouse foundation and the Mitchell Family Charitable Trust in memory of Shoshana Mitchell Glynn.
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent9
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid102210
dc.identifier.authororcidBeaumont, Joanna
dc.identifier.authororcidSmith, Debbie M.
dc.identifier.authororcidBailey, Emilie
dc.identifier.authororcidBarron, Rebecca
dc.identifier.authororcidTomlinson, Emma
dc.identifier.authororcidMurphy, Margaret§0000-0001-9979-9462
dc.identifier.authororcidHeazell, Alexander E. P.
dc.identifier.citationBeaumont, J, Smith, D M, Bailey, E, Barron, R, Tomlinson, E, Murphy, M & Heazell, A E P 2026, '“How do I navigate the joy and the grief at the same time?” – Mothers' postnatal experiences following care in a specialist pregnancy after loss clinic: A qualitative study', Women and Birth, vol. 39, no. 3, 102210, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102210, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102210
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102210
dc.identifier.endpage9
dc.identifier.issn1871-5192
dc.identifier.issued3
dc.identifier.journaltitleWomen and Birth
dc.identifier.otherRIS: urn:6CAD77E2A87BA23304CB9E3190060BC8
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-9979-9462/work/215974924
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18915
dc.identifier.volume39
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier B.V.
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2026.102210
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038321136?origin=resultslist
dc.rights© 2026, the Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Midwives. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectPostpartum
dc.subjectPregnancy after loss
dc.subjectStillbirth
dc.subjectWomen
dc.subject[NursingMidwifery]
dc.title“How do I navigate the joy and the grief at the same time?” – Mothers' postnatal experiences following care in a specialist pregnancy after loss clinic: A qualitative studyen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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