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I Rådestad

Publications and source records attributed to I Rådestad.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

[When the expected child dies. Both emotional and practical support is important for the women affected].

The results of a nationwide population-based epidemiological study of 636 women showed the majority of those who lost a child prenatally in 1991 to have been satisfied with the care they received. After a stillbirth it is beneficial to create a peaceful, supportive atmosphere in which the woman may spend as much time with her stillborn child as she wishes. Access to tangible reminders of the child reduces the risk of anxiety. The findings suggest that delivery should be induced as soon as the woman desires. Almost all the women stressed the importance of obtaining an adequate explanation of the child's death, in order to come to terms with their loss.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

A comparison of women's memories of care during pregnancy, labour and delivery after stillbirth or live birth.

OBJECTIVE: To compare women's reports of aspects of their care during pregnancy, labour and delivery following stillbirth and live birth. DESIGN: Data were collected by postal questionnaire in 1994. SETTING: A Swedish nation-wide population-based study of cohorts defined in 1991. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and fourteen women with stillbirth (subjects) and 322 women with live birth (controls). MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: Labour and delivery were assessed as physically 'insufferably hard' by 52 (17%) of the subjects and 33 (10%) of the controls. The corresponding figures for emotional strains were 144 (47%) and 21 (7%). Obstetric analgesia was more frequently used during labour for stillbirth. One hundred and thirty-eight (44%) subjects, as compared to 44 (2%) of the controls, left hospital within 24 hours of birth. Almost all the women with stillbirth 296 (95%) stated that it was important to have an explanation of the baby's death. Adverse events related to bromocriptine given to inhibit postpartum lactation, were reported by 60 (22%) of the subjects. KEY CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to ease the distress of labour and delivery for stillbirth. Discussion of the aetiology of the baby's death with the mother should be a priority. The optimal length of stay in hospital after stillbirth remains to be defined. Non-pharmacological inhibition of lactation may be presented as an alternative to bromocriptine, breast binding is a concrete 'reality confrontation' for the woman and may aid her in her grieving process. Further studies concerning breast binding vs pharmacological inhibition of lactation and long-term psychological outcome are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Stillbirth and maternal well-being.

BACKGROUND: Stillbirth imposes severe strains on the mother. Little is known about the long-term well-being after such an experience. METHODS: The study population comprises 380 women who experienced stillbirth and 379 control women with a livebirth in 1991. Data were collected by a postal questionnaire in 1994 in a nationwide study in Sweden. The response rate was 84%. RESULTS: The index women stated more often than controls that they had an improved relationship with the baby's father at the time of follow-up than before the child's birth, the ratio of proportions (with 95% confidence interval) of women with an improved relationship being 1.8 (1.4-2.2). The corresponding figure for high satisfaction with home and family situation at the time of the survey was 1.3 (1.1-1.6) and 3.7 (1.6-8.3) for low satisfaction with the appreciation they encountered outside the home. The cumulative incidence of separation/divorce after a stillbirth was the same as after a livebirth, 8%. Marital status strongly modified the results; for single women the ratio of proportions (stillbirth compared to livebirth) for an improved relationship with the baby's father was 0.2 (0.0-1.4) and for high satisfaction with home and family situation 0.1 (0.0-0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Stillbirth increases satisfaction with the relationship with the baby's father and the home and family situation, but it decreases maternal satisfaction of appreciation by others outside of the home. This traumatic experience does not affect the risk of separation/divorce, but single women are at risk of social complications after stillbirth, and psychosocial support may be appropriate for this subgroup.

Divorce↗
PubMed1996

Psychological complications after stillbirth--influence of memories and immediate management: population based study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that may predict long term psychological complications among women who have had a stillborn child. DESIGN: Nationwide population based study using epidemiological methods. SUBJECTS: 380 subjects and 379 controls who had had a stillborn or non-deformed live child in Sweden in 1991. RESULTS: Information was provided by 636 (84%) women. The ratio (95% confidence interval) of proportions of women with symptoms related to anxiety above the 90th centile for women who had had a stillborn child compared with those who had not was 2.1 (1.2 to 3.9). An interval of 25 hours or more from the diagnosis of death in utero to the start of delivery gave a ratio of 4.8 (1.5 to 15.9). The ratio was 2.3 (1.1 to 5.3) for not seeing the child as long as the mother had wished and 3.1 (1.6 to 6.0) for no possession of a token of remembrance. CONCLUSION: It is advisable to induce the delivery as soon as feasible after the diagnosis of death in utero. A calm environment for the woman to spend as much time as she wants with her stillborn child is beneficial, and tokens of remembrance should be collected.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Stillbirth is no longer managed as a nonevent: a nationwide study in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Giving birth to a stillborn child is a tragedy. The aim of this study is to investigate the meeting of mothers with their stillborn children and the women's experiences of support during and after the delivery. METHODS: In a nationwide study in Sweden, data from 636 women who gave birth to a stillborn or live baby were collected by means of an anonymous postal questionnaire in 1994. RESULTS: Among the 314 women who gave birth to a stillborn child, nearly every mother had seen her child, and 80 percent had carressed her baby. More than 90 percent of the mothers stated that the medical staff showed respect, and about 80 percent of the mothers stated that staff exhibited tenderness toward their dead children. The mother's assessment of respect and tenderness to her child by medical staff was almost identical between stillbirths and live births. Nearly 70 percent of the women reported that the hospital had good routines to support mothers of stillborn children. Feelings of sadness and having been deeply hurt or angered by the medical staff's behavior were reported by 37 percent of the women. A difficult balance is still to be achieved between women being forced to encounter the baby when not yet ready versus others who wish the staff had given more encouragement. The value of properly taken photographs is described. CONCLUSIONS: Treating stillbirth as a nonevent has been largely, if not entirely, abandoned in Sweden. Most mothers of a stillborn child experience that the medical staff treat their dead children appropriately.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Psychic and social consequences of women in relation to memories of a stillborn child: a pilot study.

Prevalence and determinants of long-term psychosocial morbidity among women giving birth to a stillborn child are largely unknown. Few, if any, systematic epidemiologic studies are available. In this pilot study we investigated one alternative way to collect data from relevant patient populations and formulated some hypotheses. Moreover, questions found unhelpful in this context were identified, e.g., whether the mother had bathed her dead child or not. Fruitful hypotheses found worthwhile testing were, among others: the risk of long-term anxiety-related symptoms is reduced if (1) the woman has seen her stillborn child, (2) she has an ultrasonic or photographic picture of the child, and (3) she has gone through a ritual, primarily burial of the child; moreover, (4) divorce may be a social consequence of the intrauterine loss of a child.

Adult↗