Frost Julia, Bradley Harriet, Levitas Ruth, Smith Lindsay, Garcia Jo
School of Nursing and Community Studies, University of Plymouth, UK.
Sociol Health Illn. 2007 Nov;29(7):1003-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.01019.x.
This paper explores the special nature of bereavement in the case of first trimester miscarriage. It is theoretically informed by the sociological literature concerning death and bereavement and is empirically grounded in interviews with 79 women. We argue that the 'scientisation of death' in modern societies contributes to the uncertainty and isolation which distinguish early miscarriage as a unique form of loss. In the absence of clear cultural scripts to draw upon, many women interviewed gave meaning to their loss as 'what might have been' or what we call 'the loss of possibility'. Some women juxtaposed the failure of their pregnancy with that of modern medicine either to prevent the loss or provide a credible explanation for their miscarriage. Little research has been conducted in this area, since the pioneering work of Lovell (1983) and Cecil (1984). Our research draws on one of the largest and most systematic bodies of data ever collected on early miscarriage, and provides continued evidence of the traumas of miscarriage. The strategies employed by women to make sense of, and come to terms with, their experience of miscarriage are explored, employing a typology of pre-modern, modern and postmodern responses.
本文探讨了孕早期流产情况下丧亲之痛的特殊性质。它在理论上以关于死亡和丧亲之痛的社会学文献为依据，并以对79名女性的访谈为实证基础。我们认为，现代社会中“死亡的科学化”导致了不确定性和孤立感，这使得早期流产成为一种独特的丧失形式。由于缺乏明确的文化脚本可供借鉴，许多受访女性将她们的丧失理解为“本可能发生的事情”，或者我们所说的“可能性的丧失”。一些女性将自己怀孕失败与现代医学未能防止这种丧失或为她们的流产提供可信解释的情况相提并论。自洛弗尔（1983年）和塞西尔（1984年）的开创性工作以来，这一领域的研究很少。我们的研究借鉴了有史以来关于早期流产收集的最大、最系统的数据集之一，并提供了流产创伤的持续证据。本文运用前现代、现代和后现代反应的类型学，探讨了女性用来理解和接受流产经历的策略。
