The impact of perinatal loss or miscarriage on partnerships and quality of life in women

Introduction:
Modern obstetrics, owing to advancements in technology and medicine, offers women improved prenatal diagnosis, intrauterine treatment options, and more effective perinatal care. Despite these advancements, approximately 10% to 15% of pregnancies in Poland end in miscarriage. These statistics highlight the significant number of women who undergo the loss of a child, leading to changes in their quality of life and the potential risk of strained partner relationships. The study aims to investigate the impact of perinatal loss or miscarriage on partnerships and the quality of life in women.

Material and methods:
The clinical material comprised 158 women aged 18 to 49 years, who willingly participated in the study. The research employed a diagnostic survey method with survey questionnaires in the Polish version, including The Quality of Relationships Inventory and The World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF. The collected data underwent statistical analysis using the IBM SPSS Statistics package (v. 28).

Results:
A correlation was observed between the quality of life and the assessment of the quality of relationships. It has been found that peri-natal loss or miscarriage affects women’s quality of life and partnerships. It has been proven that the more experiences related to miscarriages, the worse the assessment of the somatic quality of life. Additionally, the difference between the number of children and the assessment of perceived support from the partner was presented.

Conclusions:
Respondents attach more importance to issues related to the social environment and partner relationships than to health aspects. A positive relationship has been demonstrated between the quality of life in the social sphere and the depth of relationships, which contributes to increasing the level of relationship quality. Moreover, it has been found that the loss of pregnancy brings the couple closer together.