Art Therapy for Women Who Have Experienced a Spontaneous Miscarriage: A Thematic Analysis of Reflections

Abstract

Spontaneous pregnancy loss is the most common pregnancy complication; 15–25% of clinically confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage, and when early, undetected pregnancy losses are included, the miscarriage rate can reach as high as 30–60% of all pregnancies. Women who lose their babies in the early stages of pregnancy often experience this as a bereavement. However, in Lithuania, 95.2% of women who had experienced a miscarriage and participated in the study did not receive any psychological support; only 4% of those surveyed stated that they did not need it. However, both in Lithuania and abroad, there is still a lack of research on women’s emotional state following a spontaneous pregnancy loss and the impact of interventions on it. Research question: What experiences emerge in the thematic analysis of women who have experienced a spontaneous miscarriage? A qualitative study was conducted using the inductive thematic analysis method. The study participants underwent a 10-session group art therapy programme. After each art therapy session, the study participants reflected on their experiences related to their miscarriage by analyzing the drawings they had created. Verbal data from the reflections were recorded, then transcribed and analysed according to identified themes. The research participants were four women who had experienced a spontaneous pregnancy loss. The study analyses the reflections of three women who participated in all sessions. The thematic analysis revealed four themes characterising the women’s core experiences of spontaneous pregnancy loss: defensiveness, the grieving process, a complicated relationship with oneself and others, and awareness and finding meaning.