Emotional cushioning in pregnancy after perinatal loss.

Women pregnant again after prior perinatal loss often describe their experience of protecting their emotions and avoiding prenatal bonding, due to fear of another loss. Trust in successful pregnancy has been broken. Previous research on pregnancy after perinatal loss (PAL) identified the common yet complex self‐protective mechanism called emotional cushioning (EC), presented here as a unique combination of circumstances and responses used by women to cope with the anxiety, uncertainty, and sense of vulnerability experienced in these subsequent pregnancies. This study was undertaken to increase understanding of the characteristics of EC and its relationship to pregnancy anxiety. CLICK HERE for full article.