Abstract: Objective: To systematically review the grief experience of women with fetal loss, understand their grief and coping strategies. Methods: We searched databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang and CBM to retrieve all eligible qualitative studies. A Meta-synthesis was conducted to synthesize the evidence. Results: A total of 21 studies were included, and 33 complete findings were grouped according to similarities to form 7 new categories. These categories resulted in 3 synthesized findings: grief from fetal loss being underestimated; complex grief experiences; grief coping journeys. Conclusion: Medical staff should recognize the grief of women with fetal loss, pay special attention to their individual needs. They should provide individualized support, and help women recognize grief, accept grief, get out of grief, and start a new life.

Key words: fetal loss; grief; experience; qualitative research; Meta-synthesis