When a Baby Dies: Psychotherapy for Pregnancy and Newborn Loss

by Irving G. Leon

This is the first full-length exploration of psychotherapy for those who have experienced the loss of a baby during pregnancy or in the first few weeks of life. Using many case reports, Irving G. Leon integrates recent work on narcissism, mourning, and short-term therapy with more traditional psychoanalytic theory and treatment.

247 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 1990

Reviews

[Kate Ahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book not just for therapists but for anyone who has experienced stillbirth and neonatal death. This is the only book on the subject I have read that looks at the psychology of pregnancy, and the multiple losses one suffers with the death of a baby - losses of anticipated intimacy, of an experienced part of the self, of identity as mother, of the developmental achievement of pregnancy, of sense of self-esteem as a woman, of competence as a body, of capability as a nurturer... not to mention the unending future losses of milestones along the lost child's life. This is a very well researched and thorough book, exploring a very unique kind of grief and the difficulties bereaved mothers (and, to some extent, fathers - this book is very much centred on the mother's experience) may face in trying to resolve it, taking into consideration their own circumstances. In terms of tone, the book is probably a bit heavy on the psychoanalytic jargon to be an easy read for most midwives and health professionals, but nonetheless it is a very valuable book, and could be very useful to anyone working in bereavement or perinatal counselling services.