Primary healthcare midwives’ experiences of caring for parents who have suffered an involuntary pregnancy loss: a phenomenological hermeneutic study

Introduction Men can express different responses after pregnancy loss. This loss can interfere with their expectation of parenthood, new life, and future hopes. Expectations from the social construction of gender can encourage them to maintain an image that contradicts their actual feelings. This can lead to isolation, distancing, and difficulties in seeking support. The scarcity and low representation of men in previous studies makes research that captures the complexity of their experience necessary. The aim of this study was to explore how men confront the suffering caused by pregnancy loss. Methods This study is part of a larger research project focusing on the experiences of parents and midwives following pregnancy loss. In this study, 22 cisgender and white heterosexual men who experienced pregnancy losses participated in semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed iteratively using constructivist grounded theory methods. Results The substantive theory of double‐layer masking of suffering emerged as way to explain the confrontation of suffering after pregnancy loss from the male perspective. The themes, (1) suffering beyond physical loss, (2) rationalization in the search for meaning, and (3) keeping a façade with others, show the impact that this loss had on men, which was masked by the meaning they gave to the situation and by its social expression. Discussion The findings provide a theoretical conceptualization of the masking these men use to deal with the suffering they experienced from this situation. These aspects provide reasons for including these individuals in the assistance given by midwives after a pregnancy loss. Collaboration between specialized and primary care, along with staff training and support, is necessary for the provision of couple‐centered care after pregnancy loss.

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“…45 All of this can contribute to uncaring situations, in which emotional outreach to women and men is not prioritized. 44,45…”

Section: Implications For Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Double‐Layer Masking of Suffering After Pregnancy Loss: A Grounded Theory Study from a Male Perspective

Fernández‐Basanta

Coronado

Movilla‐Fernández

2022

J Midwife Womens Health

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“…According to the Caritative Caring Theory [4], apart from competencies and support, the basic motive for caring is caritas, the unconditional love constitutive of care. the provision of caritative care assumes a personal, sometimes lasting, cost for midwives and nurses [5,6,9]. For these professionals caring for pregnancy losses is an emotionally demanding experience that impacts their lives, triggering various physical, social, psychological, cognitive and behavioural reactions.…”

Section: Aim Key Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Encounters with these parents require care that goes beyond tasks, establishing a caring relationship and conceiving people as an indivisible entity that includes body, soul and spirit [4]. This study is part of a larger international research project on involuntary pregnancy loss [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under an unsupportive organisational culture, lack of preparation or knowledge and an emotionally demanding care, caring for these parents is a stressful and challenging event [3,7]. This, together with a marked professional code of emotional expression, may require these professionals to set aside their own emotional responses and focus on the tasks demanded by their work context and the parents [5,6,8]. Despite being forced to conceal their emotions, the literature supports the development of grief in midwives and nurses who care for pregnancy losses [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unravelling the grief of involuntary pregnancy loss: A meta‐ethnography of midwives’ and nurses’ emotional experiences

Fernández‐Basanta

Coronado

Bondas

et al. 2021

Scandinavian Caring Sciences

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Background: Parents who experience involuntary pregnancy loss encounter nurses and midwives when requiring care. But the environment in which this attention is provided turns it into a stressful and challenging event that favours the concealment of emotions. Literature supports the development of compassion in nurses and midwives who tend to parents who experience pregnancy losses. Aim:To synthesise the emotional experiences of midwives and nurses when caring for parents who have suffered an involuntary pregnancy loss.Method: This is a synthesis of qualitative studies following Noblit and Hare's interpretive meta-ethnography. Eleven studies met the research objective and inclusion criteria.Results: An overarching metaphor, 'Unravelling the grief of loss', accompanied by four major themes provided interpretive explanations to the experiences of midwives and nurses in caring for involuntary pregnancy losses: 'Pulling the thread' -looking for the meaning of loss; 'Yarn entanglement degree' -determinants for grief expression; 'Detangling tools' -focusing on the loss; and 'Fraying the thread' -moving away from the loss. Discussion:The provision of whole care to these parents requires midwifery and nursing training and continued education. Furthermore, the organisational culture should prioritise the health and well-being of midwives and nurses. Conclusion:Midwives and nurses encounter the parents' loss in care and personally in various ways and give meaning to the loss conditioned by personal and professional determinants. They unravel the grief of loss by looking for the meaning, expressing their grief, focusing and moving away from the loss.

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“…Healthcare professionals who care for bereaved parents have a unique opportunity to guide and assist a woman and her family at this time. Midwives are acknowledged as key care providers for bereaved parents and may be the first, last and most frequent contact parents have with healthcare professionals ( Wallbank and Robertson 2013 ; Fernández-Basanta et al 2021 ). ( Wallbank and Robertson 2013 ; Fernández-Basanta et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Stranger in a mask” midwives’ experiences of providing perinatal bereavement care to parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: A qualitative descriptive study

Power¹,

Atkinson²,

Noonan³

2022

Midwifery

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Primary healthcare midwives’ experiences of caring for parents who have suffered an involuntary pregnancy loss: a phenomenological hermeneutic study

Cited by 15 publications

References 36 publications

Double‐Layer Masking of Suffering After Pregnancy Loss: A Grounded Theory Study from a Male Perspective

Double‐Layer Masking of Suffering After Pregnancy Loss: A Grounded Theory Study from a Male Perspective

Unravelling the grief of involuntary pregnancy loss: A meta‐ethnography of midwives’ and nurses’ emotional experiences

“Stranger in a mask” midwives’ experiences of providing perinatal bereavement care to parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: A qualitative descriptive study

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