Cuisinier M, de Kleine M, Kollée L, Bethlehem G, de Graauw C
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Acta Paediatr. 1996 Mar;85(3):339-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14028.x.
This study, involving five level III neonatal intensive care units, investigated whether there are any differences between parental grief following the death of a newborn twin and parental grief following the death of a newborn singleton. A total of 142 parents were examined using the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS): 72 who had lost a newborn twin and 70 matched controls who had lost a newborn singleton 0.5-3.5 years previously. We found that bereaved twin parents did not differ in grief reactions from bereaved singleton parents (PGS: F = 0.00, p = 0.962). This held true both for the short and the long term (F = 0.13, p = 0.721). Mothers showed more grief than fathers (F = 8.16, p = 0.005). In conclusion, grief in bereaved twin parents should be taken as seriously as grief in bereaved singleton parents. The present guidelines regarding care for the latter ought to be adapted to meet the needs of the former.
