Baby Death Research Paper

Death is a part of life and cannot be avoided. However, the death of an infant whether born or unborn is never taken lightly. It is a difficult situation for the expecting parents. Parents, however, are not the only ones involved in the death of a baby. Health care providers are also closely involved in the birth or death of a baby. This article was developed to research the feelings that health care providers have when a baby dies. The feelings that health care providers may have when a baby dies can be overlooked and not taken seriously. However, the author of this article believes that it is an important to try and comprehend how these health care providers feel when this happens to the patient they are caring for.
This article focuses on the feelings of health care providers after the death of a baby regardless of how old the baby was and whether it was in the womb or it had been born already. “Unfortunately, about 25,000 infants die each year in the United States” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Unfortunately this is a very real problem that happens every day in every single country and to different people. The problem is that people do not take into consideration that the deaths of these infants also affect health care providers. This problem now being put into the light of day for everyone to understand can help build classes and or training on how to help health care providers deal with death and help those families in need. With added training or classes health care providers can learn how to express their feelings and are able to help families start the grievance process. It is important for individuals to understand that nurses and other health care providers have feelings and most of them have children of their own.
This is an important research article because it is important for individuals to understand that health care providers are the first line of care and they feel what families are feeling which can be happiness and in this case sadness as well. This article portrays the feelings of health care providers clearly and they are well stated. “I do not usually enter the woman’s room unless I have to measure the vital signs, install a catheter or medication, then I get in [lowers her voice further], but I do not ask her anything, I’m ashamed of not knowing what to say, [silence] I am not prepared to address the emotional aspects (EP10, nurse)” (Maria Pastor Montero et al., 2011, p.1408). This is one of the many testimonies offered in this article about health care providers that do not know how to react or what to say in a situation like this. This author’s purpose is to help create a program that can help these providers understand and learn what to say and how to
act. The research was conducted in Cordoba, Spain with nineteen health care providers.
This author had specific research questions that were read to all providers equally and all answers were recorded. Some of the research questions by Maria Pastor Montero et al. are as follows “Could you describe your experience regarding some perinatal loss situation in your professional practice? How do you feel when you have to face these situations? What does perinatal loss mean to you? How do your beliefs about perinatal loss affect the parents’ death and grief experiences? How do you believe the parents live this experience?” (p. 1407). These research questions are part of the phenomenological process that was used. It was used to measure and assess exactly what these health care providers feel and what they think when these situations occur to them and their patients. All of these research questions were directly related to the problem at
hand. This article was directly related to the health care providers that worked in the location specified. During the review of this article no other relevant qualitative or quantitative studies were cited. It was centered on the responses and feelings of the health care providers and no other literature or information was provided to enforce the purpose of the study. The author used a theoretical framework when gathering the information during the months of November / December of the year 2011. All the data that was included in this article was adequate and helped build the argument at hand. It is important to understand that health care providers have feelings and this article is very specific and reinforces the point very well. The evaluation that was provided by the author at the end of the article expressed the need for reinforced education and training for health care professionals. “The study should be a reflection and encouragement towards the elaboration of a care guide to deal with perinatal loss, reducing professionals’ anxiety and offering more sensitive and empathetic care to the parents” (Mario Pastor Montero et al., 2011, p. 1411). It is clear that the purpose of this article is to help individuals understand the need for extra training for health care providers not only for the benefit of the health care providers but for the patients. These health care providers are with the patient the entire time they are going through this situation. It is important to understand that feelings will always be there and it is possible to stop these health care providers from feeling that they can do nothing for the patient.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. Reproductive Health. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm
Maria Pastor Montero, S., Manuel Romero Sanchez, J., Hueso Montoro, C., Lillo Crespo, M., Gema Vacas Jaen, A., & Belen Rodriguez Tirado, M. (2011). Experiences with Perinatal Loss from the Health Professionals’ Perspective. Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem (RLAE), 19(6), 1405-1412.