A qualitative study of early career Australian midwives' encounters with perinatal grief, loss and trauma.

Sheehy, A; Baird, K

A qualitative study of early career Australian midwives' encounters with perinatal grief, loss and trauma.

Sheehy, A

Baird, K

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Women Birth, 2022
Issue Date:: 2022-01-31

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sheehy, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0037-1501
dc.contributor.author	Baird, K https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0142-6962
dc.date.accessioned	2022-04-20T02:09:30Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-20
dc.date.available	2022-04-20T02:09:30Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01-31
dc.identifier.citation	Women Birth, 2022
dc.identifier.issn	1871-5192
dc.identifier.issn	1878-1799
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/156502
dc.description.abstract	PROBLEM: The health of women is dependent on midwifery workforce stability. Retaining new midwives is paramount, however without support, the early career can be a vulnerable time for midwives. BACKGROUND: Midwives care for women who experience poor perinatal outcomes like stillbirth and neonatal death. Midwifery care in these sentinel events is complex. There is limited understanding of early career midwives' experiences within these encounters. AIM: To understand the experiences of Australian early career midwives' clinical encounters with perinatal grief, loss and trauma. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive/exploratory study using in-depth interviews. FINDINGS: Four themes were identified from interview data: (1) all eyes on the skills; (2) support is of the essence; (3) enduring an emotional toll; (4) at all times, the woman. Most participants had minimal exposure to perinatal loss as a student. As a result, most felt unskilled and unprepared for this as a new midwife. DISCUSSION: Types and degrees of support varied in these encounters. Early career midwives who were well supported reflected positively on working with grief and loss. In contrast, inadequate or absent support had detrimental effects on participant wellbeing. Poorly supported encounters with death (intrapartum fetal, early neonatal, and maternal) in the early career period were significantly distressful, giving rise to mental and emotional distress. CONCLUSION: Pre-registration perinatal loss skill development and supported experiences are necessary for preparedness. Continued education, formalised debriefing and mentoring, institutional philosophies which promote collegial ethics of care, and the expansion of continuity of midwifery care models will improve new midwives' experiences.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation.ispartof	Women Birth
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.wombi.2022.01.009
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	11 Medical and Health Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine
dc.title	A qualitative study of early career Australian midwives' encounters with perinatal grief, loss and trauma.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.location.activity	Netherlands
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Midwifery
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2024-01-19T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2022-04-20T02:09:29Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

PROBLEM: The health of women is dependent on midwifery workforce stability. Retaining new midwives is paramount, however without support, the early career can be a vulnerable time for midwives. BACKGROUND: Midwives care for women who experience poor perinatal outcomes like stillbirth and neonatal death. Midwifery care in these sentinel events is complex. There is limited understanding of early career midwives' experiences within these encounters. AIM: To understand the experiences of Australian early career midwives' clinical encounters with perinatal grief, loss and trauma. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive/exploratory study using in-depth interviews. FINDINGS: Four themes were identified from interview data: (1) all eyes on the skills; (2) support is of the essence; (3) enduring an emotional toll; (4) at all times, the woman. Most participants had minimal exposure to perinatal loss as a student. As a result, most felt unskilled and unprepared for this as a new midwife. DISCUSSION: Types and degrees of support varied in these encounters. Early career midwives who were well supported reflected positively on working with grief and loss. In contrast, inadequate or absent support had detrimental effects on participant wellbeing. Poorly supported encounters with death (intrapartum fetal, early neonatal, and maternal) in the early career period were significantly distressful, giving rise to mental and emotional distress. CONCLUSION: Pre-registration perinatal loss skill development and supported experiences are necessary for preparedness. Continued education, formalised debriefing and mentoring, institutional philosophies which promote collegial ethics of care, and the expansion of continuity of midwifery care models will improve new midwives' experiences.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/156502