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Abstract

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Although the cause of recurrent pregnancy loss is unknown in the majority of cases; advanced maternal age, chromosomal abnormalities, uterine abnormalities and infections could all be potential causes of miscarriage. Miscarriage is a common problem and could affect the women’s psychological wellbeing in the short term and possibly in the long term. OBJECTIVE: To describe the awareness of women age (15-45) years old regarding beliefs and emotional impact of miscarriage. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on the total of 393 women with age from 15-45 years old attending gynecology, obstetrics and family planning departments in Baghdad Teaching Hospital in Baghdad/Iraq during the period from 14th of January 2016 to 15th of April 2016. RESULTS: 393 women have been or still pregnant, 171 of those 393 women had a history of miscarriage; giving the prevalence of (43.5%) for women reporting a history of miscarriage. The prevalence of miscarriage in women age 40-45 years old was (38.0%). In this study (63.7%) of women satisfied about the medical care they received after abortion. The beliefs of the respondent about the causes of miscarriage showed that a large number agreed that sexual intercourse during pregnancy (36.4%) and past use of oral contraception (33%) may all be causes for miscarriage, (81%) believed that stressful event was a cause of miscarriage, (58%) knew that pregnancy loss was the result of genetic abnormalities, (46.4%) believed that having had a sexually transmitted disease in the past was the cause of miscarriage, and (68.4%) of women who had experienced a miscarriage reported that they would find a miscarriage to be extremely upsetting, equivalent to the loss of a child. CONCLUSION: There are some misperceptions about the factors associated with miscarriage. Many women had emotional distress after miscarriage which was perceived as a loss of a child.

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