Mothers' perspectives on care needs after experiencing a stillbirth

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to search for the care needs of mothers who have lost children due to stillbirth and their thoughts and experiences on this, and find a direction this care should take.MethodThe research design was a qualitative factor search type research. There were a total of 14 participants, including 13 mothers who had experienced a stillbirth after the middle term of the pregnancy and one mother who had experienced early neonatal death within the first hour of birth. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews using an interview guide. The results were analyzed using continual comparative analysis. In order to ensure the validity of the analysis, the participants confirmed the results.ResultsThe results of the analysis indicated three core categories. The first related to 'support me becoming a mother'-reaffirm the bonds that have been formed between mother and child during pregnancy, and support her self realization that she is a mother. Second, 'support for working through the grief process' -when the grief process brought on from experiencing loss begins, help guide her through the proper grief process. Third, 'work out my wishes and support my decision-making' -respect the mother's decisions on various levels related to care and develop mother-initiated care.Within 'support me becoming a mother', I extracted the following four categories: 'support all my wishes in seeing and parting with my child', 'I want mementos that are proof that my baby lived', 'provide support through cremation and burial services', and 'my baby should be treated as if he were alive'. For 'support for working through the grief process' I extracted the following five categories: 'help me talk out and listen to my stories of my child and my experiences', 'assurance that it's O.K. to cry and provide an environment where I can cry', 'an environment that won't add to my pain', 'after-hospital support and information', and 'support for the family to support the mother'. Finally, 'work out my wishes and support my decision-making' was a total, comprehensive care need. ConclusionMothers who have experienced a stillbirth have care needs based on supporting them becoming a mother, supporting them in working through the grief process, and working out their wishes and supporting their decision making.