The Effectiveness of Problem-Solving Group Counseling on Women\'s Mental Health after Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Spontaneous abortion is a psychologically devastating experience for women. Due to the high prevalence and psychological complications of abortion and the effective role of midwives in women s psychological support, this study was conducted to determine the effect of problem-solving group counseling on women s mental health after spontaneous abortion. METHODS: This clinical trial was performed in 2019 on 46 women who experienced spontaneous abortion in their first pregnancy in Imam Khomeini and Razi hospitals in Ahvaz. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control (23 women in each group). In the pre-test stage, the two groups completed the mental health questionnaire with a score of 0-84 and demographic characteristics. The experimental group underwent 90-minute weekly counseling sessions based on problem-solving therapy for 8 weeks. Both groups completed the questionnaire again after the intervention and one month later during follow-up. FINDINGS: The mean age of the experimental group was 27.95±3.92 and the control group was 28.04±3.78. Before the test, the mean score of mental health was 59.25±3.56 in the experimental group and 58.14±4.86 in the control group, indicating no statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, in the post-test stage, there was a significant difference in terms of mental health (38.45±3.03 in the experimental group vs. 58.95±4.87 in the control group) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that problem-solving therapy can be effective in improving the mental health of women after spontaneous abortion.

Keywords

• problem-solving therapy
• mental health
• spontaneous abortion.