The thesis deals with the issue of spontaneous abortion as well as induced termination of pregnancy and its potential negative impacts on woman's mental and physical health. The theoretical part summarizes the findings about particular kinds of pregnancy loss and defines the possibilities of psychological adaptation to this loss. The author paid the close attention to Post-abortion syndrome (PAS), which is regarded as a special form of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder. The thesis is further focused on the emotional, social, psychological and physical effects following abortion, the most threatened group of women with a higher probability of having PAS and finally the way of medical treatment. In the empirical part, the main symptoms of PAS were detected by means of the Helpline database analysis. Detection of these syndromes enabled to compile the questionnaire related to pregnancy loss. The main task was to discover the perceived changes in a woman's life after the pregnancy loss. In the final part of the work, the questionnaire regarding pregnancy loss had been tested and finally the main benefits together with limits had been critically evaluated.

Objectifs : Pour les parents, vivre le deuil d'un enfant atteint d'un cancer est un cheminement complexe et douloureux dont il est difficile de comprendre tous les enjeux, en particulier ce qui influence la santé psychologique et la qualité de vie à long terme. Les objectifs étaient 1/ de décrire la qualité de vie, la détresse psychologique et les symptômes de deuil de parents endeuillés, 2/ d'explorer l’influence du sexe et du temps écoulé depuis le décès sur les résultats aux tests de santé psychologique, et 3/ d’identifier des prédicteurs de la santé psychologique actuelle des parents. Méthode : Une analyse quantitative rétrospective a été effectuée auprès de 32 mères et 14 pères d'enfants décédés du cancer au CHU Sainte-Justine. Ceux-ci ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne comportant le Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12), le Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) et l’Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG-19). Résultats : Les symptômes de deuil des parents demeurent très présents, jusqu'à 18 ans après le décès. La majorité (58 %) des parents rapportent un deuil compliqué rétrospectivement. La plupart des mères rapportent des symptômes de deuil importants, ainsi qu’un changement significatif entre la première année après le décès et maintenant comparativement aux pères. Enfin, les prédicteurs de la qualité de vie et de la détresse psychologique nous renseignent sur des modèles de vulnérabilité de la santé psychologique des parents, tel qu’être père, avoir des symptômes élevés de deuil et peu de temps écoulé entre le décès et la complétion du questionnaire. Conclusion : Cette étude permet de nous informer sur les effets du deuil. Les résultats suggèrent qu'un suivi des parents endeuillés est nécessaire, même longtemps après le décès de leur enfant. / Objectives: For parents, grieving the loss of a child from cancer is a complex and painful journey for which we do not understand all the issues, in particular, what influences psychological health and long-term quality of life and more specifically the situation of fathers. This study was conducted with parents two to twenty years after the death of their child. The objectives are 1/ to describe the quality of life, psychological distress, and bereavement symptoms of bereaved parents, 2/ to explore the influence of gender and time since death on psychological health test results, and 3/ to identify predictors of parents' current psychological health. Methods: A retrospective quantitative analysis carried out was conducted with 32 mothers and 14 fathers of children who died of cancer at Sainte-Justine UHC between 2000 and 2016 were recruited and completed a self-reported online questionnaire using Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG-19). Results: Parents’ symptoms of grief continue to be very present, even up to 18 years after death (58%). Mostly mothers recall very significant symptoms of grief. They report a significant change between the first year after death and now which is less true for fathers. Finally, the predictors of Quality of Life and distress provide us with information on vulnerability patterns: being a father, having high symptoms of grief, and short time elapsed since death. Conclusion: Understanding the differences between fathers’ and mothers’ grief is important for health professionals to better support both bereaved parents efficiently. The results suggest that a follow-up of bereaved parents is needed, even long after the death of their child.