Why Is It Important To Bereavement?

The thought of losing a child is heartbreaking. The death of a child is extremely stressful for everyone, especially the parents. Parental bereavement can be a very sensitive subject to handle. Palliative care begins as soon as the child is diagnosed with an illness and continues after the death of the child. It is important as healthcare providers to support the parents during their time of bereavement because losing a child can lead to depress, anxiety, psychological issues, and an overall decreased quality of life. Nurses must understand and remember that every situation is unique and that every reaction of grief is different in intensity and range. Nurses can help parents cope with their grief by having an understanding of grief, recognizing
There are many factors that affect grief such as, the age of the child, whether the death was sudden or anticipated, the diagnosis of the infant, and symptomatic management in end of life care. The older the child is, the death of that child increased the grief of the parent (Van der Geest et al). Anticipated death tends to be easier than the sudden death of a child; being less prepared for the death increased the grief and anxiety of the parent (Davies). Diagnosis and symptomatic management is very important to the parent. Education on the diagnosis a must because the parents often expect the worst. Parents that acknowledge the possibility of undesirable outcomes often find that coping is easier than when they have false hope (Tan, et al). Pain management of a child before death is the most important symptom to focus on and try to alleviate (Van der Geest, et al). The parents often feel guilty and ashamed if their child is in pain when they pass away. The goal of caring for the parent after the death of their child is to help the parent achieve well-being, no matter the amount pain that they feel after the loss of their
Healthcare professionals play an extremely important role when supporting grieving parents. Being present for parents is extremely important in determining the appropriate interventions when caring for grieving parents. The intervention of support packages included informational letters, poems and stories about the loss of a child, and clothing and blankets that their child was wearing. Support packages gave no results to support the reduction of the parent’s reaction of grief and coping within 6 months after losing their child. However, the mothers who received support packages were more apt to join social support groups and talk about their feelings with others (Liisa, et al). Follow up interventions are initiated by the nurses. The parents are given contact information and are called to form a meeting after leaving the hospital at about 2-6 weeks following the death. If a home visit is inconvenient or not possible for the parents, the primary nurse who was present at the time of death of the infant will call the parent and discuss over the phone. The nurses should simplify information, support parents’ feelings and offer external sources for support such as peer support groups, web sites, books, and national organizations (Kavanough & Moro). The mothers benefitted from the health care professionals’ support when assessing their coping and personal growth due to more support being associated