Shame, stigma and sin are deeply associated with both pregnancy loss and mental health; especially within the church. Based on my analysis of the repercussions of pregnancy loss on mental health, I will argue that through informed, cross discipline dialogue on pregnancy loss, de-stigmatization and separation from shame and sin can occur on the lay level. This paper will discuss the repercussions of miscarriage which affect mental health (namely: postpartum depression, anxiety, and attachment issues) which are disenfranchised due to a lack of community and pastoral support and recognition. In the current American Christian milieu, there are residual tendencies to attach sin, shame, and social stigma onto pregnancy loss and especially onto abortion causing undo stress and alienation onto the bereft. This negative association toward the bereft is accentuated when organizations like the National Right to Life Committee attack the bereft parents through political campaigns instead of grieving with them, recognizing their loss, and validating their grief. [SLIDE 8] Through a psychologically informed theology of miscarriage, we as academics and pastors can change the landscape of how we attend to the bereft by recognizing their loss through meaningful discussion, validating their grief through thoughtful acts of kindness and generosity, remembering their child through meaning making rituals, and most of all walking with them through their identity (re)formation.
