Losing a baby can have a devastating impact on the parents – and may lead to their early deaths, researchers said today.
A new analysis of bereaved families in the UK suggests that grieving parents are two to four times as likely to die in the decades following their loss as are others of their age group.
In England and Wales, women who lose an infant in the first year of life are four times more likely than others to die in the next 15 years, researchers found.
The findings, reported in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, come from an analysis of hundreds of families and deaths over a 30 year period.
Researchers say suicide may play a part as may problems such as alcohol abuse. But there may be other biological factors, such as a weakened immune system, they say.
Researcher Dr Mairi Harper, of the University of York, UK, writes: "Bereaved parents may also be more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as alcohol misuse – which may in turn boost the likelihood of alcohol related illnesses or unintentional injuries, they say.
"Alternatively, stillbirth and infant deaths could be more common among parents who themselves have poor health."
She adds: "It is imperative that cause of death be further investigated in order to establish the factors leading to increased mortality in bereaved parents."
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care September 8 2011; doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2011-000025
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