Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-03T14:12:59.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 20 - Reproductive Trauma and PTSD: On the Battlefield of Fertility Counseling

from V - Special Topics in Fertility Counseling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

Sharon N. Covington
Affiliation:
Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, MD
Get access

Summary

Trauma occurs when the ability to envisage our future and feel safe in the world is no longer possible. While trauma is often a one-time horrific occurrence, it can also be chronic in nature.Indeed, reproductive trauma can encompass both types of anguish: the frightening and painful loss of a miscarriage, with massive bleeding and the potential need for surgery, or the seemingly endless cycle of hope and despair during fertility treatments. Sadly, for our patients, it is not uncommon to experience both infertility and pregnancy loss, and like a soldier on the battlefield, it can be protracted, leaving deep psychological wounds. This chapter not only explores the trauma that occurs in reproductive patients, but also how we, as fertility counselors, cope with being on the battlefield with them.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Schwerdtfeger, KL, Shreffler, KM. Trauma of pregnancy loss and infertility for mothers and involuntary childless women in the contemporary United States. J Loss Trauma 2009;14(3):211227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.Google Scholar
Bartlik, B, Greene, K, Graf, M, Sharma, G, Melnick, H. Examining PTSD as a complication of infertility. Medscape General Medicine 1997 (online). Available from: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/719243 [last accessed June 16, 2022].Google Scholar
Cann, A, Calhoun, LG, Tedeschi, RG, et al. The Core Beliefs Inventory: a brief measure of disruption in the assumptive world. Anxiety Stress Coping 2010;23(1):1934.Google Scholar
Jaffe, J, Diamond, MO. Reproductive Trauma: Psychotherapy with Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Clients. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2011.Google Scholar
Jaffe, J. Reproductive trauma: psychotherapy for pregnancy loss and infertility clients from a reproductive story perspective. Psychotherapy 2017;54(4):380385.Google Scholar
Leon, IG. When a Baby Dies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
Negris, O, Lawson, A, Brown, D, et al. Emotional stress and reproduction: what do fertility patients believe? J Assist Reprod Genet 2021 (online). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02079-3.Google Scholar
Dombo, EI, Flood, M. Spirituality in fertility counseling. In: Covington, SN, Ed. Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide and Case Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015, 7484.Google Scholar
American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists. Are there any long-term health effects from having an abortion? Patient FAQ Induced Abortion. 2015. Available from: www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/induced-abortion [last accessed June 16, 2022].Google Scholar
Owen, CM, Goldstein, EH, Clayton, JA, Segars, JH. Racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive medicine: an evidence-based overview. Semin Reprod Med 2013;31(5):317324.Google Scholar
Markus, H, Nurius, P. Possible selves. Am Psychologist 1986;41:954969.Google Scholar
Hooker, K, Fiese, BH, Jenkins, L, Morfei, MZ, Schwagler, J. Possible selves among parents of infants and preschoolers. Develop Psychol 1996;32:542550.Google Scholar
Markin, RD. An introduction to the special section of psychotherapy for pregnancy loss: review of issues, clinical applications and future research direction. Psychotherapy 2017;54(4):367372.Google Scholar
Stroebe, M, Schut, H. The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description. Death Studies 1999;23:197224.Google Scholar
Wenzel, A. Cognitive behavioral therapy for pregnancy loss. Psychotherapy 2017;54(4):400405.Google Scholar
McAdams, DP, McLean, KC. Narrative identity. Curr Directions Psychological Sci 2013;22(3):233238.Google Scholar
Tedeschi, RG, Calhoun, LG. Posttraumatic growth: conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychol Inq 2004;15(1):118.Google Scholar
Krosch, DJ, Shakespeare-Finch, J. Grief, traumatic stress, and posttraumatic growth in women who have experienced pregnancy loss. Psychol Trauma: Theory Res Pract Policy 2017;9(4):425433.Google Scholar
Rosner, M. Recovery from Traumatic Loss: A Study of Women Living Without Children after Infertility. Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) Dissertations. 2012. Available from: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations_sp2/20 [last accessed June 16, 2022].Google Scholar
Trippany, RL, Kress, VEW, Wilcoxon, SA. What counselors should know when working with trauma survivors. J Couns Dev 2004;82:3137.Google Scholar
Berzoff, J, Kita, E. Compassion fatigue and countertransference: two different concepts. Clin Soc Work J 2010;38:341349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×