Experience of undergraduate midwifery students faced with perinatal death in clinical practice: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Student midwives often encounter perinatal loss including stillbirth and neonatal death as part of their clinical training. There has been limited research on how student midwives cope with perinatal death.

Objective: To explore the experiences of undergraduate midwifery students facing perinatal death during their internships.

Design: Qualitative research design based on interpretive phenomenological approach and COREQ-guided reporting.

Setting: Tertiary maternal and child care center or general hospital.

Participants: Undergraduate midwifery students from a medical university in Guangzhou, China.

Methods: Study participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted between October 2020 and March 2021 with 12 midwifery students. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using Diekelmann's interpretive method.

Results: Four themes were identified from the data: unavoidable anxiety and avoidance response; overwhelming fear and taboos related to death; self-blame and emotional inhibition; and ethical conflict and reflection on practice.

Conclusions: Undergraduate midwifery students believed they were ill-prepared to care for women who experienced perinatal loss, consciously endured their own negative emotions such as anxiety and fear, and hoped for improved bereavement and stillbirth care in future clinical practice. Students valued support from the bereavement midwife and identified effective strategies that would help them cope with their feelings. It is recommended that adequate education and emotional support be provided to midwifery students, who should be encouraged to provide appropriate care to grieving families.

Keywords: Bereavement care; Midwifery student; Perinatal death; Qualitative study; Stillbirth.