Societal and Workplace Responses to Perinatal Loss: Disenfranchised Grief or Healing Connection

Perinatal loss is a life-altering event for a mother, affecting every aspect of her existence, including her work and career. Fifteen women describe how such loss affected their work and how the responses of others influenced their healing. I consider the effects on grief of silence, disenfranchisement, attachment, trauma, shame, secrecy, and the social context. I note patterns of healing: connection to the self, attachment to the dead child, and linking the self and child to the family and community. Community attachments include those made in the workplace. Relationships at work and work itself can contribute to disenfranchised grief or healing from perinatal loss.