Shared or Discordant Grief in Couples 2–6 Years After the Death of Their Premature Baby: Effects on Suffering and Posttraumatic Growth

Background: The loss of a baby causes severe short- and long-term distress to parents and their marital relationship, but little is known about how this distress is shared between spouses. The authors hypothesized that the grief-related concordance within a couple 2 to 6 years after the loss of a premature baby could be an indicator of shared emotional distress within a couple.Objective: The authors investigated the long-term grief experience among couples.Method: A group of 44 parents (22 couples) were assessed by questionnaire regarding grief, suffering, posttraumatic growth, and affective symptoms, and semistructured interviews with 6 couples added qualitative information about processes within couples.Results: The extent of grief concordance was found to be related to different patterns of suffering and posttraumatic growth within couples.Conclusion: The emotional exchange between partners after the loss of the child appears to be crucial for a process of concordant grief, which in turn is associated with a more synchronous process of individual posttraumatic growth