Entre morte e vida: A perda de um bebê fruto de uma gravidez gemelar

Abstract

In the psychological literature on perinatal grief, the focus has been given to the experience of mothers who have lost a baby from a singular pregnancy. Since there has been a significant rise of multiple pregnancies in recent decades, due to increasing maternal age and the greater use of assisted reproduction techniques, this study sought to examine a topic that has not been explored much: the loss of a baby from a twin pregnancy. Thus, with the aim of investigating the emotional experience of mothers who have lost a baby from a twin pregnancy, ten psychoanalytic interviews were performed with mothers. These interviews were mediated by the presentation of an interactive narrative, seeking a more careful approach of the topic. After each interview, transferential narratives were written by the interviewers. Then, the material was psychoanalytically analyzed based on Fábio Herrmann's Multiple Field Theory, resulting in three fields, entitled: “The two little birds”, “The desert” and “The woman”. Through these fields, it was possible to weave clinical-theoretical reflections on the emotional ambivalence of mothers in relation to their twin children, in view of the fact that these women are called upon to experience primary maternal concern and mourning at the same time. Feeling alone in this peculiar experience of mourning, they are also crossed by feelings of guilt due to the omnipotent fantasy that they could have prevented the loss of one of the twin babies or, on the other hand, could have caused the loss due to their emotional reactions to the discovery of the twin pregnancy. In view of the above, we observed significant suffering among the participating mothers in relation to their twin children, others and themselves, which reveals the need for psychological interventions with this population of women.