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A perinatal loss is a life-changing event that can have psychological consequences for a mother both after the loss and in a subsequent pregnancy.

This qualitative study aimed to examine mothers' lived experiences of the holistic journey of perinatal loss and subsequent pregnancy.

Qualitative data were collected via online surveys (n=40) and face-to-face semi-structured interviews (n=5), then analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Under the overarching theme ‘finding the words: language, labels and legitimate distress', three themes were developed that captured the ways in which participants used language to challenge societal silence and legitimise the personhood of their loss, while creating a community of support.

Midwives play a key role in women's experiences during the perinatal journey after a loss. The language used can either validate or be …