The DOI matches its Crossref record; 33 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The impact of stillbirth on bereaved parents: A qualitative study
Open accessAbstract
PURPOSE: To explore the lived experiences and personal impact of stillbirth on bereaved parents. METHODS: Semi-structured in-depth interviews analysed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) on a purposive sample of parents of twelve babies born following fetal death at a tertiary university maternity hospital in Ireland with a birth rate of c8,500 per annum and a stillbirth rate of 4.6/1000. RESULTS: Stillbirth had a profound and enduring impact on bereaved parents. Four superordinate themes relating to the human impact of stillbirth emerged from the data: maintaining hope, importance of the personhood of the baby, protective care and relationships (personal and professional). Bereaved parents recalled in vivid detail their experiences of care following diagnosis of stillbirth and their subsequent care. The time between diagnosis of a life-limiting anomaly or stillbirth and delivery is highlighted as important for parents as they find meaning in their loss. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of stillbirth on bereaved parents is immense and how parents are cared for is recalled in precise detail as they revisit their experience. Building on existing literature, these data bring to light the depth of personal experience and impact of stillbirth for parents and provides medical professionals with valuable insights to inform their care of bereaved parents and the importance of clear and sensitive communication.
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“Clearly, the parents in this survey, as with parents in other studies [e.g., (10, 15, 19, 26, 27)], placed an emphasis on making memories as part of the hospital experience and have expressed regret at not making memories or wished they would have made more memories (28, 29).”
From Parent hospital experiences following stillbirth (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
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“While this is a difficult conversation to have, some parents want communication about their baby’s appearance after birth (19, 28).”
From Parent hospital experiences following stillbirth (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
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“Parents interviewed in Nuzum et al. (25), also briefly mentioned being worried about what their baby may look like.”
From Parent-to-parent advice before the birth of a stillborn baby (2025) · cites this paper as [25]
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“Since most parents in this study did not have the support of someone who has experienced a stillbirth and parents have indicated that healthcare professionals left a lasting impression on them during a stillbirth experience in either positive or negative ways (28), working with a trained healthcare professional who can provide bereavement guidance becomes more important.”
From Parent hospital experiences following stillbirth (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
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Cites
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Self-citationStillbirth: The Mother's Experience and Implications for Improving Care
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Self-citationParental decision making around perinatal autopsy: a qualitative investigation
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Self-citationThe Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013
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Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 34 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
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Active use and perceptions of parks as urban assets for physical activity: A mixed-methods study
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Mackintosh, N., Agarwal, S., Adcock, K., Armstrong, N., Briley, A., Patterson, M., Sandall, J., & (Sarah) Gong, Q. (2020) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2020.102803 · Cited by 45
Metadata
- Authors
- Nuzum, D., Meaney, S., & O’Donoghue, K.
- Affiliations
- University College Cork (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Nuzum, Daniel
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2018-01-24
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e0191635
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5783401
- OpenAlex
- W2785158232
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 13.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Cork Open Research Archive (University College Cork, Ireland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Lenus, The Irish Health Repository (Dr Steevens Hospital Library) (submittedVersion)
- 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 › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
- Keywords
- stillbirth, bereaved parents, lived experience, parental grief, fetal death, hope, protective care, professional relationships, sensitive communication, perinatal loss
- MeSH terms
- Bereavement, Humans, Parents, Qualitative Research, Stillbirth
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