Pregnancy after Stillbirth
For the majority of women who have suffered a stillbirth, there is no increase in the risk of it recurring. However, many mothers are wary about getting pregnant again because of the fear that it will happen again or because of guilt they feel that they are trying to replace the baby who died. Others, however, are keen to get pregnant as soon as they have physically recovered because they want to have a new life in their family and to ease the painful memories.
In cases where a genetic abnormality or maternal illness was the reason behind a stillbirth, the risks of it happening again are slightly increased. Genetic abnormalities mean you may require some genetic counselling in order to try to determine the likelihood of another stillbirth happening and to see what options are open to you.
It is important to allow yourself time to recover both physically and emotionally after a stillbirth. It is also important to let yourself grieve after the loss of your baby and many couples seek counselling to help them accept and recover from the pain of stillbirth.
Talk about what happened with your partner, family and friends to help you try to come to terms with your loss. When you are ready to try again people will understand your concerns if you have warned them in advance. There are also lots of pregnancy loss support groups both online and offline that you can use to discuss your fears and worries about pregnancy after stillbirth with people who know what you've gone through and who will be happy to talk to you and offer advice or just a shoulder to cry on.
If you do decide to try for another baby, you should discuss the timing with your doctor. Many health care providers suggest waiting between 6 and 12 months before getting pregnant again to allow for physical recovery.
Understandably any subsequent pregnancy will be fraught with worries but you should try to relax and enjoy pregnancy after a stillbirth as much as you are able to.
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Further Information on StillBirth
SANDS is an organisation which can offer you support when your baby dies during pregnancy or after birth.
CounttheKicks works to raise awareness of the risks surrounding later stages of pregnancy.
