Background: Research shows the unique challenges that being autistic can pose in the perinatal period, including sensory sensitivities. Further challenges may relate to health care systems designed for non-autistic people and a lack of practitioner awareness. Literature exploring autistic people assigned female at birth’s (AFAB) experiences of baby loss is more limited, but this can be traumatic, as reported in key literature. Methods: This qualitative study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to understand how six autistic people AFAB made sense of their experiences of baby loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death. Results: Participants described the unpredictability, trauma, and absence of care from practitioners throughout baby loss, which left them feeling unsafe, neglected, and not believed. Participants shared how baby loss heightened their autistic experiences and was perceived to intensify their distress. They reported shame, guilt, and blame in relation to their autistic and gender identity perpetuated by the silencing and stigmatising societal discourses surrounding baby loss. Participants described a sense of continuous embodied physical and emotional pain of being without their babies. They felt that autistic grief may be different from non-autistic grief. Reconnecting with their babies through continuing bonds in more practical ways was important. Discussion: Many clinical implications arose that add to existing research, including the necessity for improved practitioner awareness and knowledge in perinatal settings, along with the unique experiences of baby loss and grief for autistic people AFAB, which this research adds. Trauma-informed care provided in line with needs and preferences is imperative.
Toms et al. (Thu,) studied this question.