The end of a pregnancy is a painful time. No matter how or when the fetus was lost, the mother is hit with the double whammy of physical symptoms as well as emotional ones. It is common to feel regret, relief, anger, sadness, grief, anxiousness, guilt, confusion, and more. Some women become certain that the end of the pregnancy was their fault and that there was something they could have done to prevent it. When a miscarriage or stillbirth is experienced, there is nothing the woman could have done.

Blaming yourself and agonizing over what you could have or should have done differently isn't helpful. Pregnancy losses do not occur because of any negative or ambivalent feelings the woman might have had about the pregnancy. In fact, it is quite common to have good as well as bad feelings about a pregnancy, even if it was one that was long awaited or carefully planned.

Many women find that one of the hardest parts of losing a pregnancy is that the loss is not acknowledged in the same way as the death of another loved one. The parents feel as attached to the lost child as they would to anyone they lost. Since many women do not share news of their pregnancy before the end of the first trimester, a pregnancy is often lost before many people are told about it. In those cases, no one is even aware of the loss, or people may find out about the loss without ever having known about the pregnancy.

Another reason pregnancy loss is difficult is because with miscarriage in particular, there often is no medical intervention at all. A woman is often encouraged to stay home and care for herself there. It may feel like the medical profession does not care or have much interest in the loss. Unfortunately there is nothing a doctor can do to stop a miscarriage, and so the loss is something a woman must handle on her own with the support of family and friends.

It takes time to recover from a pregnancy loss. Six months after a miscarriage, 50 percent of women are clinically depressed. If you experience a pregnancy loss and are experiencing severe depression symptoms, talk to your doctor. Depression is something that can be managed very well with medication and therapy.

One way to cope with the loss is by talking about it. Even if you haven't told people about your pregnancy, you can share your loss with them. Because miscarriages are so common, you will probably find that many friends and relatives have experienced them. Another way to manage is to find a way to commemorate the lost child. Some people post on pregnancy loss Web sites, create their own Web sites, or create small memorials at home.

While the sharpness of the loss recedes, a lost child is something you never forget. Many women however, are able to move forward and achieve successful pregnancies after a loss.