Birth After a Pregnancy Loss: Implications for Pregnancy Happiness

Stacy Tiemeyer , University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Karina M. Shreffler, Oklahoma State University
Julia McQuillan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Many women experience negative emotions following a pregnancy loss. Anxiety about prior reproductive experiences persist for women, even during subsequent pregnancies. Very little research has considered the interaction between pregnancy loss and pregnancy intentions for happiness about pregnancy. Using data from the 2002-2013 NSFG, we explore the implications of a prior pregnancy loss for happiness about a subsequent pregnancy that ends in birth. We compared births classified as on-time, mistimed, unwanted, and ambivalent. Births were more likely to be characterized as on-time if they occurred following a pregnancy loss, and women were less likely to report being happy about a conception if they were ambivalent about the conception and experienced a previous loss.

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 Presented in Session 228. Fertility Intentions: Causes and Consequences