This study looks at the experiences of staff caring for women who have a late termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality. Grounded theory was used to look at how staff coped with the experiences and the impact on the individual, their professional role and the organization. A total of 23 staff from a wide cross section of the professions within the directorate of obstetrics and gynaecology took part. The analysis showed a process of caring that evolved over time and was dependent on the emotional reaction of the individuals and families to the news of the fetal abnormality. The authors describe the process in a staged model called ‘the experience of the evolution of caring’. This was seen as a reflective and dynamic model. Three main stages are identified in the model through several main categories such as support, boundaries and limitations, and detachment. These formed the basis for the experience of caring. A core category identified was that of ‘doing the right thing’.