Grief at perinatal loss: Performance of nursing professionals

Identifier:  TFG:1854

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFG1854

Authors:  Casanovas Recasens, Marta

Abstract:
Introduction: The loss of a new-born is just as devastating as any other type of death. The bond with this new being already exists although the parents do not know them. This situation is why in our society it is difficult to give importance to this type of death and why the expressing freely of emotions of such a loss is generally not recognised there-bye complicating the perinatal duel. Hospitals must offer from the very start, after a perinatal death, care and support for the parents and family members. The objectives of the study are to identify the procedures employed by the nursing professionals towards the parents who have suffered a perinatal death, to identify the training available to professionals of nursing towards the parents on Perinatal Duel and how to deal with it, and finally, analyze how professionals themselves experience the process of perinatal death and its affect on them at a personal level. Method: Qualitative study of descriptive type with data collection from semi-structured interviews with nurses of the maternal-infantile service of the Joan XXIII University Hospital of Tarragona, with the purpose of analysing these interviews and classifying the information. Results: The results of the interviews emphasize the lack of training and tools of the professionals to be able to address the situation of perinatal death and the deficit of resources of emotional support offered to the parents and/or families suffering the loss. Conclusion: At present, death remains a difficult issue to address. Following perinatal death, the developing perinatal duel is a subject that is not yet recognized/treated as a natural reaction and tends to be given little importance. There is a lack of training for professionals when it comes to possessing strategies and tools to help work with such loss and to offer care to parents and/or families suffering such a loss.