Parents’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences of care after stillbirth in low‐and middle‐income countries: a systematic review and meta‐summary
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Stillbirth has a profound impact on women, families, and healthcare workers. The burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is need for respectful and supportive care for women, partners, and families after bereavement. OBJECTIVE: To perform a qualitative meta-summary of parents' and healthcare professionals' experiences of care after stillbirth in LMICs. SEARCH STRATEGY: Search terms were formulated by identifying all synonyms, thesaurus terms, and variations for stillbirth. Databases searched were AMED, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, BNI, CINAHL. SELECTION CRITERIA: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies that addressed parents' or healthcare professionals' experience of care after stillbirth in LMICs. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were screened, and data extracted in duplicate. Data were analysed using the Sandelowski meta-summary technique that calculates frequency and intensity effect sizes (FES/IES). MAIN RESULTS: In all, 118 full texts were screened, and 34 studies from 17 countries were included. FES range was 15-68%. Most studies had IES 1.5-4.5. Women experience a broad range of manifestations of grief following stillbirth, which may not be recognised by healthcare workers or in their communities. Lack of recognition exacerbates negative experiences of stigmatisation, blame, devaluation, and loss of social status. Adequately developed health systems, with trained and supported staff, are best equipped to provide the support and information that women want after stillbirth. CONCLUSIONS: Basic interventions could have an immediate impact on the experiences of women and their families after stillbirth. Examples include public education to reduce stigma, promoting the respectful maternity care agenda, and investigating stillbirth appropriately. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Reducing stigma, promoting respectful care and investigating stillbirth have a positive impact after stillbirth for women and families in LMICs.
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Respectful language in intrapartum and newborn care
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Editorial: Stillbirths in low-middle income countries: challenges & experiences
Atkins, B., Siassakos, D. M., & Aggarwal, N. (2023) · Frontiers in Global Women s Health · doi:10.3389/fgwh.2023.1240004 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Stillbirth in Khayelitsha Hospital, South Africa: Women's Experiences of Care
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Perinatal Grief in the Indian Context: Conceptualizing and Companioning the Grieving Process
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Women's experience of consent for intrapartum interventions: a systematic review and meta-summary
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Grief after fetal death: a voiceless mourning
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Re: Why stillbirth deserves a place on the medical school curriculum
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A Phenomenological Study of Clinical Stillbirth Management for Grieving Mothers
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Child Death and Mothers’ Subsequent Mental Health in a High‐Mortality African Community
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Stillbirth in Low-Resource Settings
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Improving perinatal bereavement care in settings with the highest mortality
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Improving Monitoring Data Systems to Count and Account for Stillbirths
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Somaliland women’s perception of stillbirth - a descriptive survey study
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- Authors
- Shakespeare, C., Merriel, A., Bakhbakhi, D., Baneszova, R., Barnard, K., Lynch, M., Storey, C., Blencowe, H., Boyle, F., Flenady, V, Gold, K., Horey, D., Mills, T., & Siassakos, D.
- Affiliations
- Southmead Hospital (GB)
- University Hospital Bratislava (SK)
- North Bristol NHS Trust (GB)
- International Stillbirth Alliance Bristol UK
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Michigan (US)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Shakespeare, C
- ORCID
- Venue
- BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-09-17
- Volume
- 126
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 12-21
- ISSN
- 0306-5456 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-0328
- 1471-0528
- OpenAlex
- W2886009481
- Cited by
- 102
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 1.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Explore Bristol Research (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (DRF-2017-10-130, CL-2016-25-001, ACF-2015-25-006)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Keywords
- stillbirth, grief, stigma, respectful maternity care, parental experiences, health professionals' experiences, low- and middle-income countries, social status loss, bereavement support
- MeSH terms
- Disenfranchised Grief, Attitude of Health Personnel, Developing Countries, Female, Humans, Parents, Postnatal Care, Pregnancy, Stereotyping, Qualitative Research, Stillbirth
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