New understandings of fathers' experiences of grief and loss following stillbirth and neonatal death: A scoping review
Fathers; Grief; Loss; Neonatal death; Stillbirth
OBJECTIVE: To report on research conducted on men's experiences of grief and loss following stillbirth and neonatal death in high-income, Western countries. DESIGN: This review was guided by the following research questions: 1. The impact of perinatal death for men 2. The meaning of the loss for a father's sense of identity 3. The extent to which men were able to express grief while supporting their partners and, 4. how men's experience of grief was mediated by the support and care received by health professionals. DATA SOURCES: We searched the following databases: Medline; PsychINFO; CINAHL to identify relevant articles published from the year 2000 onwards. The searches were run between 1/04/2018 and 8/4/2018. REVIEW METHODS: A scoping review was conducted of nursing, psychological, medical and social science databases using these key words: fathers' grief, men's grief, perinatal loss and death, stillbirth and neonatal death. RESULTS: Studies indicated that men reported less intense and enduring levels of psychological outcomes than women but were more likely to engage in avoidance and coping behaviours such as increased alcohol consumption. Men felt that their role was primarily as a 'supportive partner' and that they were overlooked by health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed on men's experience of grief following perinatal death, especially on their physical and mental well-being. IMPACT: This review addressed the problem of the lack of knowledge around paternal needs following perinatal death and highlighted areas which researchers could usefully investigate with the eventual aim of improving care for fathers.
Jones K; Robb M; Murphy S; Davies A
Midwifery
2019
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2019.102531" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.midw.2019.102531</a>
Reflexivity in midwifery research: The insider/outsider debate
Burns E; Fenwick J; Schmied V
Midwifery
2012
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2010.10.018" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.1016/j.midw.2010.10.018</a>
Perinatal palliative care after a stillbirth - Midwives experiences of using Cubitus baby
midwife; palliative therapy; Stillbirth; Cold; Cold Temperature; content analysis; cooling; Female; Human; human dignity; infant; major clinical study; Male; Midwifery; Palliative Care; Parents; Questionnaire; Refrigeration; Sweden
In Sweden, around 450 babies are stillborn every year. Usually, the parents stay at the hospital a couple of days after the birth and they can have the baby in their room. Due to the importance to keep a dead body cold it has, until recently, been a routine to separate the baby from the parents and place the baby in a refrigerator during the night. With the goal to improve the dignity for the baby and the family a tool was developed. Cubitus baby, a special cot with cooling blocks, was implemented at all 48 delivery wards in Sweden during 2013-2014. The aim of the study was to investigate the midwives experiences of using Cubitus baby. In total 155 midwives answered a questionnaire. One open question was analyzed with content analyses. Five categories were formed concerning the midwives experiences; a gracious feeling, a sense of relief in their work, caring with coldness, time to say goodbye and a good feeling for the parents. Cubitus Baby is an essential tool for the midwife when they provide perinatal palliative care. The midwife can give time to say farewell without feeling stressed that they must separate the baby from the parents.
Radestad I; Listermar KH
Bmc Pregnancy And Childbirth
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"></a>
Reframing US Maternity Care: Lessons Learned From End-of-Life Care
Delivery Obstetric; Maternal Health Services; Patient-centered Care; Patient Participation; Terminal Care; Death; Decision Making; Female; Guidelines As Topic; Humans; Infant Newborn; Midwifery; Palliative Care; Parturition; Patient Safety; Pregnancy; United States
Tilden EL; Snowden JM; Caughey AB; Lowe NK
Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
10.1111/jmwh.12525
Dying At Lifes Beginning: Experiences Of Parents And Health Professionals In Switzerland When An ’in Utero' Diagnosis Incompatible With Life Is Made.
Attitude Of Health Personnel; Decision Making; Female; Fetus/abnormalities; Genetic Counseling/psychology; Humans; Interviews As Topic; Male; Midwifery; Parents/psychology; Pregnancy; Prenatal-diagnosis; Surveys And Questionnaires; Switzerland
Fetal Congenital Malformation; Gaps; Temporality; Thematic Analysis
OBJECTIVE:
The disclosure of a diagnosis during pregnancy of a fetal malformation, which is incompatible with life, normally comes completely unexpectedly to the parents. Although a body of international literature has considered the topic, most of it comes from the United States and little has been generated from Europe. This study aims to illuminate the contemporary treatment associated with such diagnoses, regardless of whether parents decide to terminate or continue the pregnancy.
DESIGN:
a qualitative design was used with data collected by semi-structured interviews and subjected to a thematic analysis.
SETTING:
the research was conducted in the German speaking areas of Switzerland with data collected from participants in places of their choice.
PARTICIPANTS:
61 interviews were conducted with 32 parents and 29 health professionals.
FINDINGS:
the theme of 'temporality' identified four main time points from the professionals: diagnosis, decision, birth/death, and afterwards. However, in contrast to these, six major themes in this study, primarily generated from parents and extended from receiving the diagnosis until the interview, were identified: shock, choices and dilemmas, taking responsibility, still being pregnant, forming a relationship with the baby, letting go. Although there was concurrence on many aspects of care at the point of contact, parents expressed major issues as gaps between the points of contact.
CONCLUSIONS:
care varied regionally but was as sensitive as possible, attempting to give parents the space to accept their loss but fulfil legal requirements. A gap exists between diagnosis and decision with parents feeling pressured to make decisions regarding continuing or terminating their pregnancies although health professionals' testimonies indicated otherwise. A major gap manifested following the decision with no palliative care packages offered. During the birth/death of the baby, care was sensitive but another gap manifested following discharge from hospital.
Fleming V; Iljuschin I; Pehlke-Milde J; Maurer F; Parpan F
Midwifery
2016
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2016.01.014