Outcomes of structured psychotherapy for emotional adjustment in a childless couple diagnosed with recurrent pregnancy loss: A unique investigation

Abstract

Losing a much-awaited pregnancy and an unborn child, time and again is known to be a painful experience in recurrent miscarriage or pregnancy loss (RPL). Literature on psychological consequences of RPL is abundant. Nonetheless, application of psychological intervention in RPL remains to be an overlooked area. Using a repeated measures design and standardized psychological measures, this case study assessed the outcomes of mindfulness-based therapy administered with routine fertility treatment in a couple with the history of recurrent miscarriages and secondary infertility. Data analysis was done using clinically significant change and analysis of graphic trends. Psychotherapy helped the couple initiate a meaningful discourse with the stress following miscarriage, uncertainty of pregnancy, and fertility-related emotional struggles by mindfully transforming stressors into less painful experiences. Control studies on applications of such therapies are needed to provide definitive answers to “what works, for whom, when, and how,” with distressed patients experiencing RPL.

Keywords

• Case study
• counseling
• couple
• emotional distress
• infertility
• mindfulness
• psychotherapy
• recurrent miscarriages