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Healthcare professionals’ response to intrapartum death: a cross-sectional study

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Exposure to adverse perinatal events can impact on the way healthcare professionals (HCPs) provide patient care. The aim of this study was to document the experiences of HCPs following exposure to intrapartum death (IPD), to identify opinions surrounding education and suitable support strategies, and to ascertain if involvement with an IPD had any impact on clinical practice.

Methods

A questionnaire study, with open and closed questions, was developed and set in a tertiary maternity hospital. Consultant obstetricians, trainee obstetricians and midwives were invited to participate. Respondents were questioned about the impact that an intrapartum death had on them, the support they received in the immediate aftermath and their opinions regarding ongoing education and training in the areas of intrapartum death and self-care.

Results

Eighty percent of HCPs in our study had a direct involvement with an IPD. Most (82%) HCPs received no training in dealing with IPD while 94% had no education on self-care strategies. Despite it being desired by most (80%), debriefing was offered to just 11% of HCPs who were involved in an IPD. Three main qualitative themes emerged from the data; the personal impact of IPDs on HCPs, implications for professional practice and future patient care, and the importance on non-judgemental support.

Conclusion

Maternity hospitals need to improve their support structures for HCPs following an IPD. It is hoped that this study will inform future educational practice and identify potential support strategies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the health-care professionals who participated in this study.

Author contributions

KM: Project development, data collection, data analysis, manuscript writing. SM: Manuscript editing. OO’C: Data collection, data analysis, manuscript editing. MM: Data collection. RAG: Project development, manuscript editing. KO’D: Project development, manuscript editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen McNamara.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study received ethical approval from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals [Ref. No: ECM 4(III) 07/07/15 and ECM 3 (III) 08/12/15], and was carried out in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration on the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.

Funding

This work was carried out at the Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT) and was funded in part by Science Foundation Ireland (12/RC/2272).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest in regard to this article.

Additional information

This study was presented as a poster presentation resulting in a published abstract at the 18th Annual Conference of the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society, Birmingham, 2016. Healthcare Professional’s Response to Intrapartum Death. PP.07. BJOG 2016, Volume 123, Issue Supplement S1, page 42. It was also presented as an oral and a poster presentation at the 21st International Congress on Palliative Care in Montreal, Canada in October 2016. Oral: The Impact of Intrapartum Death on Midwives. Poster: Intrapartum Death and the Effect it has on Obstetric Doctors.

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McNamara, K., Meaney, S., O’Connell, O. et al. Healthcare professionals’ response to intrapartum death: a cross-sectional study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 295, 845–852 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4309-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4309-9

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