Nurses’ Experiences of Grieving When There Is a Perinatal Death

Abstract

Many nurses grieve when patients die; however, nurses’ grief is not often acknowledged or discussed. Also, little attention is given to preparing nurses for this experience in schools of nursing and in orientations to health care organizations. The purpose of this research was to explore obstetrical and neonatal nurses’ experiences of grieving when caring for families who experience loss after perinatal death. A visual arts-informed research method through the medium of digital video was used, informed by human science nursing, grief concepts, and interpretive phenomenology. Five obstetrical nurses and one neonatal intensive care nurse who cared for bereaved families voluntarily participated in this study. Nurses shared their experiences of grieving during in-depth interviews that were professionally audio- and videotaped. Data were analyzed using an iterative process of analysis-synthesis to identify themes and patterns that were then used to guide the editing of the documentary. Thematic patterns identified throughout the data were growth and transformation amid the anguish of grief, professional and personal impact, and giving–receiving meaningful help. The thematic pattern of giving–receiving meaningful help was made up of three thematic threads: support from colleagues; providing authentic, compassionate, quality care; and education and mentorship. Nurses’ grief is significant. Nurses who grieve require acknowledgment, support, and education. Supporting staff through their grief may ultimately have a positive impact on quality of work life and home life for nurses and quality of care for bereaved families.

You have no Choice but to go on: How Physicians and Midwives in Ghana Cope with High Rates of Perinatal Death

“…Moreover, select providers sought to be agents of change in a struggling system. This research offers a unique contribution to the literature on healthcare worker coping and perinatal mortality as it is the first study to our knowledge to address this issue in a low-resource setting [1][2][3][4]. The inclusion of physicians and midwives is a noteworthy addition to this research.…”

“…Stillbirths and infant deaths can be particularly challenging, and have been shown to be stressful and traumatic for physicians, midwives and nurses [1][2][3][4][5]. However, the majority of this research is from high-income countries where these deaths occur relatively infrequently.…”

Alumbrando la muerte. Profesionales de la vida gestionando el duelo

“…Desde esta atalaya los estudios apuestan por fomentar la participación de los padres en la toma de decisiones (Gál-vez 2006; Côte-Arsenault y Denney-Koelsch 2011), insistiendo en la necesidad de implantar programas de formación y guías de práctica clínica que ayuden a los profesionales a adquirir los conocimientos y capacidades en el manejo del duelo perinatal. Se parte de la conveniencia de fomentar la expresividad de las emociones por parte de los padres (Cacciatore 2010;, desarrollando estrategias como la investigación en acción participativa (Pastor et al 2012) que inserte a los padres en modos de acción definidos que los ayuden a hacer un afrontamiento de no negación del dolor (Jonas-Simpson et al 2013). Concordato solo roto por alguna publicación minoritaria en la que se cuestiona la pertinencia de alentar en los padres el contacto con su niño muerto, apuntando que no existe suficiente evidencia sobre el tema y que este contacto podría inducir a un trastorno de estrés postraumático (Badenhorst y Hughes 2007).…”

Knowledge and attitude of maternity nurses regarding perinatal bereavement care

“…Also, little attention is given to make nurses get ready for this experience in nursing curriculum and in orientations to health care organizations. [9] The purpose of this research was to evaluate knowledge, and attitude of maternity nurses regarding perinatal bereavement care.…”