ABSTRACT
Pregnancy loss has long been recognised as having potentially devastating impacts on women who desire to be biological mothers. This chapter aims to explore the impact of pregnancy loss(es) among a particular cohort of women: those who are childless and who experienced the loss(es) towards the end of their fertility. It examines the extent to which these women consciously delayed their pregnancies, which the literature appears to suggest is the case, and whether there are additional emotional impacts connected to these earlier choices when grieving the loss of biological children and motherhood. Several interrelated groups of literature shed light on the issues under investigation: postponing childbirth, pregnancy loss, and involuntary childlessness. Experiencing involuntary childlessness is multi-layered and complex: it is not only about the loss of a specific child, but, as R. Black and L. Scull point out, “it is the loss of everything the child represents for us”.
