Effectiveness of an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Intervention for the Prevention of Post-traumatic Symptoms in Perinatal Loss

Perinatal loss is a general term that refers to a loss from conception to one month postpartum. It is a grief that is still socially unauthorized, however, it is a situation with significant traumatic potential. However, there are no studies evaluating the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for the prevention or treatment of perinatal loss. We propose an one-site, open label, randomized controlled trial with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of EMDR recent traumatic episode (EMDR-RTE) as a preventive intervention for PTSD symptoms after perinatal loss. A total of 40 women who have suffered a perinatal loss from the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Service of a tertiary university hospital will be recruited. Women will be randomized to EMDR-RTE or treatment as usual (TAU). Researchers will compare EMDR-RTE and TAU to see if women receiving EMDR-RTE treatment had lower levels of post-traumatic and depressive symptoms.