How Physicians Cope With Stillbirth or Neonatal Death

Katherine J. Gold · Angela L. Kuznia · Rodney A. Hayward

113 citations0/0 files storedObstetrics and Gynecology

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Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health Global Maternal and Child Health Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify U.S. obstetricians' experiences and attitudes about perinatal death, their coping strategies, and their beliefs about the adequacy of their training on this topic. METHODS: A total of 1,500 randomly selected U.S. obstetricians were mailed a self-administered survey about their experiences and attitudes in dealing with perinatal death. Physicians received up to three copies of the survey, a reminder card, and a $2 cash incentive. Eight hundred four physicians (54%) completed the entire survey. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of respondents reported that caring for a patient with a stillbirth took a large emotional toll on them personally, and nearly one in 10 obstetricians reported they had considered giving up obstetric practice because of the emotional difficulty in caring for a patient with a stillbirth. Talking informally with colleagues (87%) or friends and family (56%) were the most common strategies used by physicians to personally cope with these situations. CONCLUSION: Perinatal death has a profound effect on the delivering obstetrician, and a significant number of participants in our study have even considered giving up obstetrics altogether. Improved bereavement training may help obstetricians care for grieving families but also cope with their own emotions after this devastating event. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

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1991The Design And Administration Of Mail Surveys 2020Reported response rates to mailed physician questionnaires.2005Hospitalization for Mental Illness among Parents after the Death of a Child 2007Grief and Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents 2–6 Years after the Death of Their Extremely Premature Baby 2005The Scope and Impact of Perinatal Loss: Current Status and Future Directions.

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2013Predictors of staff distress in response to professionally experienced miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal loss: A questionnaire survey 2016The experiences and needs of healthcare professionals facing perinatal death: A scoping review 2017Healthcare professionals’ experiences of perinatal loss: A systematic review 2015Seeing and Holding Baby: Systematic Review of Clinical Management and Parental Outcomes After Stillbirth 2015The Spiritual and Theological Issues Raised by Stillbirth for Healthcare Chaplains

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