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Thesis
When death precedes birth: the embodied experiences of women with a history of miscarriage or stillbirth - a phenomenological study using artistic inquiry
Master of Arts (M.A.), Drexel University
Aug 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/D8CH4H
Abstract
Miscarriage and stillbirth are more prevalent than socially perceived and have often been discussed in nursing and medicine literature as solely a medical event to be managed, not a death to be mourned. Social silence, ambiguity surrounding the nature of what was lost, and a painful experience of having no right to mourn are common experiences faced by women with a history of miscarriage or stillbirth. While more recent psychiatry and counseling research has uncovered the extent of grief, trauma, and psychosocial impact following miscarriage and stillbirth, very few studies have sought to understand the bodily experience of living with this history. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to understand and describe the embodied experiences of women who have had a miscarriage or stillbirth. With a sample of three participants, the student researcher carried out individual expressive movement activities exploring the stages surrounding the pregnancy loss, followed by semi-structured verbal interviews focusing on their movement experience. The student researcher integrated artistic inquiry methods throughout the analysis of the interviews to enhance the understanding of each woman's current, lived-body experience. Five universal themes emerged from the interview analysis: Momentum of new life; Stuck in emptiness; Where is my body and where am I?; We go together; and Love does not forget. The author suggests that the results from this study may be used to inform the integration and practice of dance/movement therapy interventions in miscarriage and stillbirth bereavement counseling and future dance/movement therapy research studies.
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Details
- Title
- When death precedes birth
- Creators
- Maria Renee Kurz - DU
- Contributors
- Catherine McCoubrey (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- x, 173 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Creative Arts Therapies; College of Nursing and Health Professions; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 8132; 991014632533904721