Disenfranchised Grief Following a Traumatic Birth
Following a “failed” birth plan, some women experience trauma. Because most of these women do end up with a healthy baby, their support system does not necessarily support the sadness felt at the loss of the dream birth experience, leading to disenfranchised grief. Comments
on a Facebook post linked to an essay from the Scary Mommy website were examined. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching categories of comments: (a) grief is disenfranchised by others through nonlosses and one-upping; (b) other posters expressed camaraderie for the loss of a dream
birth, expressing empathy; and, (c) conditional support.
Keywords: Birth plan; birth trauma; disenfranchised grief; one-upping
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Applied Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, Illinois, USA 2: Department of Communication & Theatre, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas, USA
Publication date: 19 May 2017
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