Midwives’ experience of delivery care in late foetal death: a qualitative study
Abstract
Aim To explore the experiences of midwives regarding the attention given during labour in late foetal death.Design Qualitative research using a hermeneutic-interpretative phenomenological approach was carried out. Data were collected through focus groups, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the van Manen approach.Setting and participants Three focus group with a purposive sample of 18 midwives from 10 public hospitals and 1 primary health centre in Madrid, Spain were conducted.Findings Two main themes were identified: Professionals for Life Not Death; and Organizing the Work Without Guidelines. Midwives felt there is a lack of social awareness related to the possibility of antepartum death that keeps the mourning hidden and affects the midwives´ practice during the late foetal death process. Midwives recognize difficulties in coping with a process that ends in death: organizations are not prepared for these events (not suitable rooms), there is lack of training to cope with them, and lack of continuity in the attention received by the parents when they are discharged.Conclusion Midwives need to be trained in mourning and communication skills to guarantee good practice when attending late foetal death. Intervention guidelines and support mechanisms are required, not only for the parents, but also for the healthcare professionals.
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Bereavement rooms were often physically isolated and inadequately equipped.
“Bereavement rooms were often physically isolated and inadequately equipped (Martínez-Serrano et al., 2018; Power et al., 2022).”
From Nurses' and midwives' experiences of supporting parents following perinatal bereavement: A qualitative systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Martínez-Serrano et al., 2018
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- Authors
- Martínez-Serrano, P., Palmar-Santos, A. M., Solís-Muñoz, M., Álvarez-Plaza, C., & Pedraz-Marcos, A.
- Venue
- Midwifery
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 66
- Pages
- 127-133
- ISSN
- 0266-6138 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2887339450
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 4.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Midwifery (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Keywords
- stillbirth, midwives' experiences, labour care, bereavement support, midwifery education, hospital preparedness, communication skills
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attitude of Health Personnel, Female, Fetal Death, Humans, Labor, Obstetric, Male, Middle Aged, Nurse Midwives, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Spain, Hospice Care, Focus Groups, Qualitative Research
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