Miscarriage is defined as the loss of a baby within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. It often begins with vaginal bleeding and abdominal cramps. When a woman experiences three or more losses, then it is termed recurrent miscarriage or recurrent pregnancy loss and at that point medical investigations are undertaken.
Miscarriage is a cruel twist of fate. The reality of death before birth is an affront to our beliefs and expectations regarding the cycle of life. Miscarriage is all too often misunderstood by those who have not experienced it personally: family, friends and society in general. People tend to minimize the personal significance and emotional relevance of miscarriage, limiting it to the woman or couple going through it. This is very understandable given the personal nature of miscarriage and the quest for a child in general. Planning, conceiving and having a child all mean different things to people. Not everyone possesses immediate firsthand knowledge of miscarriage in particular and pregnancy loss in general.
We tend to use the word “depression” to describe feelings of sadness. However, not all sadness is necessarily “depression.” One author says the word “depression” has come to have two meanings in our everyday language. One is the clinical meaning, the description of a psychological condition. The other is a non-clinical meaning, where the word “depression” is commonly used to describe an emotional state of feeling sad or low. Since the symptoms of depression and grief are much the same, it can be very difficult to differentiate.