BackgroundThe death of a newborn is a traumatic life changing event in the lives of parents. We hypothesized that bereaved parents of newborn infants want to have choices in the personal care of their infant at the end of life.MethodsParents who had suffered a perinatal or neonatal loss between 1 and 6 years before the survey in a regional level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and associated labor and delivery room were invited to participate. Parents chose between an online survey, paper survey or telephone interview. The survey included multiple choice and open ended questions.ResultsParents prefer multiple options for the personal care of their infant at the end of life. Emergent themes were need for guidance by the medical team, memory making, feeling cared for and respected by staff, and regrets related to missed opportunities.ConclusionWhile parents differ in their preferences in utilizing specific personal care options for their infant’s end of life, they share a common preference for being presented with multiple options to choose from and in being guided and supported by healthcare providers, while being afforded the opportunity to make memories with their infant by bonding with and parenting them.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12904-015-0063-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate formal bereavement debriefing sessions after infant death on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff. Study Design Prospective mixed methods study. Pre- and postbereavement debriefing intervention surveys were sent to clinical staff. Evaluation surveys were distributed to participants after each debriefing session. Notes on themes were taken during each session. Results More staff attended sessions (p < 0.0001) and attended more sessions (p < 0.0001) during the postdebriefing intervention epoch compared with the predebriefing epoch. Stress levels associated with the death of a patient whose family the care provider have developed a close relationship with decreased (p = 0.0123). An increased number of debriefing session participants was associated with infant age at the time of death (p = 0.03). Themes were (1) family and provider relationships, (2) evaluation of the death, (3) team cohesion, (4) caring for one another, and (5) emotional impact. Conclusion Bereavement debriefings for NICU staff reduced the stress of caring for dying infants and contributed to staff well-being. Key Points