We tested use of an online support group for women of color who had experienced stillbirth or early infant loss. We recruited recently bereaved mothers and asked them to participate in an existing online community for pregnancy and infant loss hosted on a commercial platform. Participants were asked to go online at least three times weekly for 6 weeks to read posts. Using a mixed-methods approach, we assessed attitudes toward online support, mental health, and experiences pre- and postintervention using written surveys and a brief phone interview. We used summary statistics for quantitative data and a deductive coding approach for qualitative data. Twenty participants completed the study. We found nonsignificant improvements in all four mental health domains (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, moderate-severe generalized anxiety, and perinatal grief). Women reported the group allowed them to help others and feel less alone. They also reported that at times, posts could increase the intensity of their loss emotions. This study demonstrated feasibility to recruit, retain, and track participation in an online support group for perinatally-bereaved mothers of color. Although the study was not powered for outcome, all mental health measures showed nonsignificant improvements, suggesting value in further investigating online social support for improving women's mental health after perinatal loss.

中文翻译：

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围产期损失在线支持小组：针对有色人种女性的试点可行性研究


我们测试了针对经历过死产或早期婴儿流产的有色人种女性的在线支持小组的使用情况。我们招募了最近失去亲人的母亲，并要求她们参与商业平台上托管的现有怀孕和婴儿丢失在线社区。参与者被要求在六周内每周至少上网三次阅读帖子。我们采用混合方法，通过书面调查和简短的电话采访评估了对在线支持、心理健康和干预前后经历的态度。我们对定量数据使用汇总统计，对定性数据使用演绎编码方法。二十名参与者完成了这项研究。我们发现所有四个心理健康领域（抑郁症、创伤后应激障碍、中重度广泛性焦虑症和围产期悲伤）均无显着改善。女性表示，该团体让她们能够帮助他人，减少孤独感。他们还报告说，有时，帖子可能会加剧他们的失落情绪。这项研究证明了招募、保留和追踪围产期失去亲人的有色人种母亲在线支持小组的参与情况的可行性。尽管该研究并未对结果提供支持，但所有心理健康指标均显示出无显着改善，这表明进一步研究在线社会支持对于改善围产期流产后妇女的心理健康具有价值。