Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9740-6151

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Shari Steinman

Committee Member

Kevin Larkin

Committee Member

Kathleen Morrison

Abstract

Pregnancy loss is a common and intense personal event that has been found to be a risk factor for increased symptoms of mood, trauma, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders in subsequent pregnancies. Using a self-report online survey, the current study hypothesizes that levels of anxiety, trauma, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms will be higher in pregnant individuals who had a pregnancy loss in their most recent previous pregnancy (n= 61) when compared to pregnant individuals whose most recent previous pregnancy resulted in a live birth (n= 62). Participants responded to an online questionnaire asking about reproductive and mental health history, symptoms of perinatal distress (anxiety, trauma, depression, and obsessive-compulsive), as well as measures of psychological vulnerabilities (perfectionism, self-compassion, and perinatal grief). Study findings demonstrate that individuals with a recent pregnancy loss experienced significantly more depressive symptoms compared to individuals with a recent live birth. Results of moderation analyses suggest that the experience of a pregnancy loss in the most recent previous pregnancy compared to the experience of a live birth strengthens the inverse relationship between self-compassion and perinatal depression. A small to medium effect in the anticipated direction was found between symptoms of perinatal anxiety and previous pregnancy outcome, however, the effect did not reach statistical significance. Contrary to hypotheses, a significant relationship was not found between previous pregnancy outcome and trauma or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Perfectionism and grief were positively associated with perinatal anxiety, trauma, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both the loss and live birth groups. Self-compassion was inversely associated with perinatal anxiety, trauma, depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both the loss and live birth groups. Overall, our study results suggest that the experience of loss in the most recent pregnancy is significantly associated with symptoms of depression in subsequent pregnancies.

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