Experiences with perinatal death among midwives, obstetricians, and assistant nurses: Results from a qualitative study in Norway / Erfahrungen von Hebammen, Geburtshelfern und Kinderpflegern mit perinatalem Tod: Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie in Norwegen

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This study aims to explore experiences of healthcare professionals, including midwives, obstetricians, and assistant nurses, after a perinatal death. A qualitative study design was used, and 20 participants were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Three categories emerged from the data: (i) external responses, (ii) internal responses, and (iii) personal responses. Generally, there was a “culture of blame” in response to the perinatal death among the professionals. The lack of opportunity to deal with perinatal death and having an inappropriate way to handle feelings and experiences are the important findings of this study. If not well supported, the concerned healthcare professionals may face serious health challenges in the long term. Hence, supportive interventions need to be designed and evaluated to provide adequate support to the concerned professionals.</jats:p>

Nurses' and midwives' perceptions and strategies to cope with perinatal death situations: A systematic literature review

“…Another source of dissatisfaction was the negative emotional and physical impact of having lived through this tragic situation. Willis (2019), for example, revealed that experiencing perinatal death had a negative emotional impact on the nurses' lives, and Pastor Montero et al (2011) and Gandino et al (2020) showed that study participants (nurses and midwives) had not only coped with their own feelings, but also with the feelings of the affected families, which is consistent with other studies (see André et al, 2020). The midwives studied by Fenwick et al (2007) also stated that the emotional commitment required to care for a family in a situation of perinatal death was deeply unsatisfactory.…”

“…Of the strategies used to cope with this tragic situation, sharing experiences, feelings and concerns with others—especially with peers—are the most commonly reported in line with the results of many other studies not included in this review (André et al, 2020; Laing et al, 2020; Martos‐López et al, 2016). This is because “these others” may have experienced similar situations in the past and are, therefore, more probably to understand their experiences of grief.…”

“…In contrast to studies such as André et al (2020), Gruszka et al (2019) and Shen et al (2022), Chan et al (2003) showed that the majority of nurses (90.9%) felt positive attitudes and feelings when they provided bereavement care, while Ravaldi et al (2018) reported that a large proportion of nurses (76.8%) felt that they were providing adequate support for the family. In fact, our literature review reveals that high satisfaction usually emerges when nurses/midwives: (a) develop a holistic approach to care, (b) have the ability to provide women and families with opportunities to be with the newborn and (c) can develop postpartum care (Fenwick et al, 2007).…”

“…Finally, previous literature has already highlighted the important role of social support from peers and supervisors in improving nurses' well‐being (André et al, 2020; Gensimore et al, 2020; Haizlip et al, 2020; Lal, 2021; Lown, 2018; Wallbank & Robertson, 2013). In this regard, the systematic literature review we carried out suggests that having institutional support—clear policies and guidelines that recognize the needs of nurses and midwives working in OAG and maternity units—may be of great importance in improving the satisfaction of nurses/midwives experiencing a perinatal death situation (e.g., Chan et al, 2004).…”

“…Notwithstanding the above, the way nurses/midwives experience their care of people suffering perinatal death situations may be different in PH or maternity units, for several important reasons. These include the following: the nature of the situation (foreseen or unforeseen) and the family's subsequent choices—for example to go forward or not with the pregnancy of a foetus affected by a medical condition that is incompatible with life (Dahò, 2020); the time available to plan the care for the women/families (André et al, 2020); the previous training of the nurses/midwives (Laing et al, 2020; Shen et al, 2022); the extent to which the organizational culture of the team and the centre is death‐oriented (André et al, 2020); and the existence of protocols to deal with this type of situation (also after hospital discharge) along with other kinds of institutional support (Camacho Avila et al, 2020; Fernández‐Alcántara et al, 2020). This review will focus on the care provided in the latter clinical setting (maternity units), including obstetric and gynaecologic settings.…”