Lasting Legacy: Maternal Perspectives of Perinatal Palliative Care
Infant; Humans; Female; palliative care; hospice; Retrospective Studies; Adult; Palliative Care/*organization & administration; perinatal; Prenatal Diagnosis; Mothers/*psychology; Newborn; Patient Care Planning/*organization & administration; prenatal; Fetal Diseases/diagnosis/*mortality; Perinatal Care/*organization & administration
BACKGROUND: Many of the leading causes of infant mortality are diagnosed prenatally, presenting providers with the ability to present perinatal palliative care planning as an option. OBJECTIVE: Our study adds to the literature both by describing infant interaction with the health care system and by gaining deeper understanding of the maternal experience after being offered perinatal palliative care. METHODS: The study was conducted at a public university-based medical center in the Midwest. Phase 1 consisted of a retrospective review of electronic medical records of 27 mother-infant pairs offered perinatal palliative care, 18 of whom elected to develop a perinatal palliative care. Phase 2 consisted of a focus group and interviews of seven of the mothers. RESULTS: In the initial phase of this study, results revealed differences regarding the infant's end-of-life trajectory, including location of death, number of invasive procedures, and death in the setting of withholding versus withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. Highlighting that without a perinatal palliative care plan in place, the default treatment for infants with prenatally diagnosed life-limiting conditions is likely to be invasive and painful with often times minimal likelihood of long-term survival. Analysis of interview and focus group data revealed three themes: care, choice, and legacy. CONCLUSION: The authors used their experience with the health care system to draw implications for practice from the focus group and interview data, which care can serve to promote women feeling cared for and cared about, as well as promote opportunities for hope during a fragile pregnancy.
Kamrath H J; Osterholm E; Stover-Haney R; George T; O'Connor-Von S; Needle J
Journal of Palliative Medicine
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/10.1089/jpm.2018.0303" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1089/jpm.2018.0303</a>
Bereaved mothers' and fathers' prolonged grief and psychological health 1 to 5 years after loss-A nationwide study
Adaptation; Adult; Attitude to Death; Child; childhood cancer; depression; Depression/psychology; fathers; Fathers/*psychology; Female; Grief; Humans; insomnia; Male; Mental Health/*statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; Mothers; Mothers/*psychology; Parents/psychology; pediatric oncology; Pgd; Posttraumatic stress; prolonged grief disorder; Psychological
OBJECTIVE: To assess differences in prolonged grief, depression, posttraumatic stress, and sleep disturbances in bereaved parents across years since loss (1-5 years) and by gender and to assess potential interactive effects of time since loss and gender on bereavement outcomes. METHODS: This study examined symptom levels of prolonged grief disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress, and insomnia in bereaved parents. A sample, including 133 mothers and 92 fathers who had lost a child to cancer 1 to 5 years previously, subdivided to five subsamples, one for each year since loss. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess differences in symptom levels, related to years since loss, and gender. RESULTS: Regardless of how many years had passed since the loss, symptom levels of prolonged grief, depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and insomnia were elevated in all subsamples. Mothers showed higher symptom levels of prolonged grief, depression, and posttraumatic stress than fathers. However, no significant interaction effects were found between years since loss and gender on any of the symptom levels. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer-bereaved mothers and fathers are vulnerable to prolonged grief and psychological symptoms up to 5 years after the death of their child. Findings highlight that bereaved parents may need long-term support, and the results deserve further attention in research and clinical care.
Pohlkamp L; Kreicbergs U; Sveen J
Psycho-Oncology
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/10.1002/pon.5112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1002/pon.5112</a>