Looking Out That Window Too: Loss in Pregnancy

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study, was to gain new and different understandings of loss in pregnancy as defined by the women. Deductive approaches using theories of grief to guide research methodologies are abundant in the literature. Perhaps this emphasis on the experience of grief has overshadowed other aspects of the experience that might be different than or more than grief as it has been defined. Understanding the experience of loss in pregnancy instead of categorizing it- deciding what is a loss and what is not, who is allowed to grieve and for how long - would validate women and the meaning they give to their experience. Attention to a woman''s interpretation and understanding raises understanding for others with the intent to provide care that is meaningful and supportive. It also creates the possiblity for a woman to be heard by others, to hear herself and obtain her own understanding of the experience through which she is constituted as a woman and a mother.