Many women experience miscarriage every year. Every fourth woman who has given birth reports that she has previous experience of miscarriage. In a study of all women in the Swedish Medical Birth Register 1983-2003, we found that the number of cases of self reported miscarriage had increased in Sweden during this 21 year period. This increase can be explained by the introduction of sensitive pregnancy tests around 1990, as well as an increase in the mean age of the mothers, by approximately 3 years, during the observation period. The risk of miscarriage is 13% with the first child. With subsequent pregnancies, the risk of miscarriage is 8%, 6% and 4% with the second, third and fourth child, respectively. Thirteen of these women who had suffered a recent miscarriage were interviewed four months later, and their feelings of guilt and emptiness were explored. Their experience was that they wanted their questions to be answered, and that they wanted others to treat them as the mothers to be that they felt themselves to be. They also experienced the need for time to grieve their loss. Measurement of grief by means of the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) is used in research but has also been proposed for clinical use. We have translated this psychological instrument to Swedish, back-translated and tested it in a small pilot study. In a randomized controlled study, women with early miscarriage were allocated, either to a structured visit (study group) or a regular visit (control group) to a midwife. The structured visit was conducted according to the Swanson caring theory. We could conclude that the structured visit had no significant effect on grief compared to the regular visit, as measured using the PGS. However, women with the sub-diagnosis missed abortion have significantly more grief four months after early miscarriage, regardless of visit type. We also performed a content analysis of the tape-recorded structured follow-up visit. The code-key used was Bonanno and Kaltman’s general grief categorization. Women’s expression of grief after miscarriage was found to be very similar to the grief experienced following the death of a relative. Furthermore, the grief was found to be independent of number of children, women’s age, or earlier experience of miscarriage. Conclusions: Every fourth woman who gives birth reports that she has also experienced early miscarriage. The experience of these women is that they have suffered a substantial loss and their reaction is grief similar to that experienced following the death of a relative.

Many women experience miscarriage every year. Every fourth woman who has given birth reports that she has previous experience of miscarriage. In a study of all women in the Swedish Medical Birth Register 1983-2003, we found that the number of cases of self reported miscarriage had increased in Sweden during this 21 year period. This increase can be explained by the introduction of sensitive pregnancy tests around 1990, as well as an increase in the mean age of the mothers, by approximately 3 years, during the observation period. The risk of miscarriage is 13% with the first child. With subsequent pregnancies, the risk of miscarriage is 8%, 6% and 4% with the second, third and fourth child, respectively. Thirteen of these women who had suffered a recent miscarriage were interviewed four months later, and their feelings of guilt and emptiness were explored. Their experience was that they wanted their questions to be answered, and that they wanted others to treat them as the mothers to be that they felt themselves to be. They also experienced the need for time to grieve their loss. Measurement of grief by means of the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) is used in research but has also been proposed for clinical use. We have translated this psychological instrument to Swedish, back-translated and tested it in a small pilot study. In a randomized controlled study, women with early miscarriage were allocated, either to a structured visit (study group) or a regular visit (control group) to a midwife. The structured visit was conducted according to the Swanson caring theory. We could conclude that the structured visit had no significant effect on grief compared to the regular visit, as measured using the PGS. However, women with the sub-diagnosis missed abortion have significantly more grief four months after early miscarriage, regardless of visit type. We also performed a content analysis of the tape-recorded structured follow-up visit. The code-key used was Bonanno and Kaltman’s general grief categorization. Women’s expression of grief after miscarriage was found to be very similar to the grief experienced following the death of a relative. Furthermore, the grief was found to be independent of number of children, women’s age, or earlier experience of miscarriage. Conclusions: Every fourth woman who gives birth reports that she has also experienced early miscarriage. The experience of these women is that they have suffered a substantial loss and their reaction is grief similar to that experienced following the death of a relative. / On the day of the public defence of the doctoral thesis the status of article III was In Press and article IV was In Press.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:12:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna Marcondes Ribeiro.pdf: 1362174 bytes, checksum: 31d6768f16d84a2ca0bb4967ed8c271e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Introduction: The importance of early diagnosis and amplification is directly related to immediate intervention. Indicators of language and auditory development of hearing impaired children are the basis for the follow up and referral procedures involved in the regular visits to the High complexity service responsible for the child. Goal: To describe and discuss indicators of language and auditory development in children younger than three years old, through a longitudinal study in a high complexity service within the Hearing Health System. Specifically, it aims at analyze different aspects of language and auditory development with the inclusion of additional instruments, such as, therapy data and parental involvement rating, and the implications for clinical decisions within the follow up visit, as stated in the Portaria MS/SAS Nº 587, October 07, 2004. Method: Descriptive, longitudinal study of three cases of hearing impaired children diagnosed early as well as their parents, all enrolled in early intervention program. IT MAIS, MUSS and MacAthur (CDI), Interview guide for parents, Family involvement rating scale, clinical records, research diary were used in data collection. Results: Using the CDI we observed that, in terms of vocabulary, children understand more than they produce, and demonstrated vocabulary increments in the longitudinal perspective, even though below parameters established for their ages. In two of the subjects IT MAIS rapidly reached maximum scores, demonstrating that it is not effective for moderate hearing losses. Data obtained through the family involvement rating scale and the interview guide enabled the observation f significant differences among the families. The research diary also offered unique information about the development of each child. Conclusions: The IT MAIS scale was not sensitive for the subjects with moderate loss. MUSS brought limited information about oral language skills, which were limited to the initial stages. It was suggested that additional instruments are necessary. CDI was sensible to intra-subject vocabulary growth; however its length was very annoying to the parents. The instruments related to parental involvement allowed for rating of family participation and expectations towards their children. It was suggested that, during the follow up visit to the High complexity service, a written protocol, filled out by the therapist should be included. Information including general development and behavior as well as family involvement can add important information that will contribute to the case management in the follow up visit within the Hearing Health System / Introdução: A importância do diagnóstico precoce e amplificação imediata relaciona-se diretamente a possibilidade de intervenção terapêutica fonoaudiológica. Indicadores do desenvolvimento da linguagem oral e das habilidades auditivas de crianças deficientes auditivas são fundamentais, pois compõem e subsidiam o acompanhamento desses pacientes realizado em Serviços de Alta Complexidade, oferecendo elementos para ajustes no tratamento e encaminhamentos necessários. Objetivo: Descrever e discutir indicadores de desenvolvimento das habilidades auditivas e de linguagem oral em crianças menores de três anos, por meio de estudo longitudinal realizado em um Serviço de Saúde Auditiva de Alta Complexidade; especificamente, analisar os resultados obtidos na aplicação de instrumentos que avaliam diferentes aspectos do desenvolvimento de audição e linguagem, visando discutir como a inclusão de registros de terapia e apreciações quanto ao envolvimento familiar, podem subsidiar o acompanhamento previsto pela Portaria MS/SAS Nº 587, de 07 de outubro de 2004. Metodologia: Pesquisa descritiva, composta por três casos de crianças deficientes auditivas, diagnosticadas precocemente e seus pais. Todos estavam em terapia fonoaudiológica. Instrumentos utilizados: MUSS, IT MAIS, MacArthur (CDI); Roteiro de entrevista para pais; Escala de avaliação de envolvimento familiar, prontuário dos sujeitos e diário de pesquisa. Resultados: No CDI, observamos que as crianças compreendem mais do que produzem, demonstrando aumento de vocabulário ao longo do tempo, embora aquém dos parâmetros do instrumento. Em dois sujeitos, a IT MAIS rapidamente atingiu sua pontuação máxima, indicando que, para crianças com perda auditiva moderada, o instrumento tem efeito teto, deixando portanto de ser efetivo. A partir da aplicação da Escala de avaliação de envolvimento familiar e do Roteiro de entrevista para pais, puderam ser observadas diferenças entre as famílias. O diário de pesquisa ofereceu informações singulares a respeito do desenvolvimento de cada sujeito. Conclusão: A escala IT MAIS foi pouco sensível nos sujeitos com perda moderada. O MUSS teve abrangência limitada de habilidades de linguagem oral, restringindo- se às etapas iniciais; tornando necessário instrumentos complementares. O CDI foi sensível ao crescimento do vocabulário intra-sujeito, entretanto sua extensão causou incomodo aos pais. Os instrumentos de avaliação do envolvimento familiar permitiram situar a família quanto a sua participação no processo terapêutico e sobre expectativas dos pais quanto a seus filhos. A partir dos resultados sugere-se que: no acompanhamento realizado no Serviço de Alta Complexidade, seja incluído um roteiro preenchido pelas terapeutas das crianças deficientes auditivas com informações sobre o desenvolvimento desses pacientes em todos os seus aspectos, além do envolvimento da família, objetivando agregar subsídios para o fonoaudiólogo responsável pelo acompanhamento no contexto da Rede de Saúde Auditiva