Stillbirth and Stigma: The Spoiling and Repair of Multiple Social Identities

This study investigated mothers' experiences surrounding stillbirth in the UnitedKingdom, their memory making and sharing opportunities, and the effect theseopportunities had on them. Qualitative data were generated from free textresponses to open-ended questions. Thematic content analysis revealed that“stigma” was experienced by most women and Goffman's (1963) work on stigma wassubsequently used as an analytical framework. Results suggest that stillbirthcan spoil the identities of “patient,” “mother,” and “full citizen.” Stigma wasreported as arising from interactions with professionals, family, friends, workcolleagues, and even casual acquaintances. Stillbirth produces common learningexperiences often requiring “identity work” (Murphy, 2012). Memory making andsharing may be important in this work and further research is needed. Stigma canreduce the memory sharing opportunities for women after stillbirth and this mayexplain some of the differential mental health effects of memory making afterstillbirth that is documented in the literature.