Question:

Basic Mental Health Care to Midwives

Introduction to grief and loss while pregnant

Your Response should include the Following Elements

It is important to clearly identify the posting that you are responding to and the relationship it has to which module.

For further discussion or argumentation, you can respond by critically analysing what was posted.

The topic’s relevance for midwifery practice has been clearly explained. The optimal care of midwives is discussed and supported with theory and research.

Answer to Question: NURS 1058 Foundations Of Midwifery

Kennedy mentions that the World Health Organization reported that in 2015, 45% (or more) of all child deaths were due to complications from stillbirths.

Stillbirths account for around 1% in all pregnancies (Lawn. et. al., 2016).

Australia saw 1718 stillborn babies last year.

This represented an average rate of around 5stillborns each day, according to Australia’s Stillbirth Foundation.

Kennedy suggests that these terrible events should be accompanied by midwives to help parents grieve (Rollan, et al. 2013).

By providing sensitive care, health professionals can reduce psychological distress after a loss of pregnancy.

This means giving them accurate, clear, and comprehensible information, in a warm and sensitive way.

Rollan, et al. 2013, explains that midwives make it easier for mothers to learn how to process this information and deal with grieve.

Good professional care also includes interventions to improve mothers’ mental healthcare after stillbirths.

Midwives must be able to offer mothers sound, evidence-based advice in a timely and sensitive manner. This will ensure that they are able to give the best guidance possible without being too pushy.

Kennedy says that grieving is a complex process and everyone handles it differently. It’s up to the midwives how they communicate with the mother to find the right way to do this (Rollan et.al., 2013).

Making memories of the baby is possible by giving mothers the babies while they are still warm or soft.

Cunningham, et al. (2014). However, it should not be done if the mothers aren’t sure what to do or in shock.

It is best to treat the stillborn as a live baby, rather than treating them as such.

Kennedy also states that midwives would encourage parents to share their childhood memories with extended family, close friends, and the immediate care system. They could also encourage writing.

Memory sharing decreases anxiety symptoms and PTSD symptoms. Research has shown that mothers who have suffered from poor mental health, such as a mother with a shorter time since the death, are less likely to feel satisfied with the professional support they receive.

Continuity of Care is the best way provide support care to families.

It is important for women to have more contact with healthcare professionals to understand the common psychological effects of pregnancy loss.

More guidance is required to resolve conflicting emotions and conceive again in the aftermath of stillbirths (Downe et. al., 2013,).

Kennedy confirms that the Western society has changed the way that babies are killed. However, Australian midwives must provide culturally appropriate midwifery care for all women.

Australia is home to many diverse cultures.

Because of this diversity, cultural safety has evolved into cultural sensitivity. Midwives employ the concepts and principles of cultural safety to provide safe care that is woman-centered (Jeong, et al. 2011).

Midwives must talk to parents about grieving a child when they work with them.

Perinatal grief has become a common issue in hospital care (Roose & Blanford (2011)).

Now, loss care is offered by healthcare providers to facilitate mourning.

Australia’s midwifery staff and nursing staff are open to grieving parents. They allow them to hold their stillborn babies, take pictures, and help with arrangements for memorial or funeral services.

Rollans et.al. (2013). Extra care is given in a few maternity hospitals to avoid crying babies being exposed to grieving mothers in maternity rooms.

If needed, midwives will give brochures and referrals to support services and counseling for mothers who have lost their baby (Cacciatore und al. 2009).References:Cacciatore, J., Schnebly, S., & Froen, J. F. (2009).

Social support after stillbirth and maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Health and social care for the community, 17(2) 167-176.Cacciatore, J. (2013, April).

Psychological effects on stillbirth.

Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 76-82).

WB. Saunders.Cunningham, F., Leveno, K., Bloom, S., Spong, C. Y., & Dashe, J. (2014).

Williams Obstetrics. 24e. McGraw-Hill.Downe, S., Schmidt, E., Kingdon, C., & Heazell, A. E. (2013).

Interview study with parents of bereaved children about stillbirth in UK hospital. BMJ open, 3(2), e002237.Jeong, S. Y. S., Hickey, N., Levett-Jones, T., Pitt, V., Hoffman, K., Norton, C. A., & Ohr, S. O. (2011).

Learning experiences for students of different cultures and languages in a bachelor of nursing program in Australia. Understanding and enhancing them.

Nurse education today 31(3), 238-244.Lawn, J. E., Blencowe, H., Waiswa, P., Amouzou, A., Mathers, C., Hogan, D., … & Shiekh, S. (2016).

Stillbirths: Rates and risk factors. Acceleration towards 2030.

The Lancet. 387(10018), 587-603.Rollans, M., Schmied, V., Kemp, L., & Meade, T. (2013).

“We ask some questions the midwives’ process for antenatal psychosocial assessment. Midwifery, 29(8), 935-942.Roose, R. E., & Blanford, C. R. (2011).

Perinatal grieving and support that spans generations: Grandparents’ and parents’ evaluations of an intergenerational bereavement program.

The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, 25(1). 77-85.Strand, L. B., Barnett, A. G., & Tong, S. (2012).

Brisbane, Australia. Maternal temperature exposure and the risk of stillbirth or preterm birth.

American journal for epidemiology, 175(2). 99-107.