TY - JOUR
T1 - Preliminary findings on the experiences of care for parents who suffered perinatal bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Silverio, Sergio A.
AU - Easter, Abigail
AU - Storey, Claire
AU - Jurković, Davor
AU - Sandall, Jane
AU - and on behalf of the PUDDLES Global Collaboration, null
N1 - Funding Information:
SAS, JS, AE, LMH, HR-J, CFT, & MN (King’s College London) are supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South London [NIHR ARC South London] at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. LEC (University of Birmingham) was supported by National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands [NIHR ARC West Midlands]. SAS is also in receipt of a Personal Doctoral Fellowship Award from the NIHR ARC South London Capacity Building Theme; and JS and LMH are also supported by NIHR Senior Investigator Awards. JAH is supported by an NIHR Advanced Fellowship. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. FdM is supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société Culture. CSEH and ANW receive funding support from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC]. CR and AV are supported by CiaoLapo Foundation structural funds and an unrestricted grant of Ashoka organization. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders. The training and infrastructure of the PUDDLES Global Collaboration on Perinatal Bereavement is supported by the King’s College London Global Engagement Partnership Fund successfully awarded to SAS [ref:- PF2021_Mar_039].
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of The COCOON Global Collaboration Steering Committee. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the wider PUDDLES Study local teams: Lizzie D?Angelo (Tommy?s Charity, UK), Janet Scott & Mehali Patel (Sands Charity, UK), Philippa Davie (King?s College London, UK), Tosin Popoola (Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand), Laura Mosconi & Roberto Bonaiuti (CiaoLapo Foundation for Perinatal Health Research, Italy), and Rupesh Gautam (The University of Queensland, Australia). The PUDDLES Global Collaboration includes (alphabetised by country): Siobhan A. Loughnan ? The University of Queensland, Australia Frances M. Boyle ? The University of Queensland, Australia Madeline Forbes ? The University of Queensland, Australia Dell Horey ? The University of Queensland, Australia Vicki Flenady ? The University of Queensland, Australia Caroline S.E. Homer ? Burnet Institute, Australia Alyce N. Wilson ? Burnet Institute, Australia Lucila C. Nascimento ? Universidade de S?o Paulo, Brazil Willyane de Andrade Alvarenga ? Centro Universit?rio Santo Agostinho, Brazil Naiara B. Polita ? Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Brazil Guilherme de Jes?s ? Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Francine deMontigny ? Universit? du Qu?bec en Outaouais, Canada Dominique Lalande ? Universit? du Qu?bec en Outaouais, Canada Neelam Aggarwal ? Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, India Bharti Sharma ? Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, India Rakhi Dandona ? Public Health Foundation of India, India Claudia Ravaldi ? CiaoLapo Foundation for Perinatal Health Research, Italy Alfredo Vannacci ? CiaoLapo Foundation for Perinatal Health Research, Italy Billie Bradford ? Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Robin Cronin ? Te Whare W?nanga o T?maki Makaurau The University of Auckland, New Zealand Hannah Rayment-Jones ? King?s College London, United Kingdom Mary Newburn ? King?s College London, United Kingdom Cristina Fernandez Turienzo ? King?s College London, United Kingdom Louise M. Howard ? King?s College London, United Kingdom Lauren E. Carson University of Birmingham, United Kingdom Jennifer A. Hall ? University College London, United Kingdom Susannah Hopkins Leisher ? Columbia University, United States of America
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12/22
Y1 - 2021/12/22
N2 - BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented risk to the global population. Maternity care in the UK was subject to many iterations of guidance on how best to reconfigure services to keep women, their families and babies, and healthcare professionals safe. Parents who experience a pregnancy loss or perinatal death require particular care and support. PUDDLES is an international collaboration investigating the experiences of recently bereaved parents who suffered a late miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death during the global COVID-19 pandemic, in seven countries. In this study, we aim to present early findings from qualitative work undertaken with recently bereaved parents in the United Kingdom about how access to healthcare and support services was negotiated during the pandemic. MethodsIn-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with parents (N=24) who had suffered a late miscarriage (n=5; all mothers), stillbirth (n=16; 13 mothers, 1 father, 1 joint interview involving both parents), or neonatal death (n=3; all mothers). Data were analysed using a template analysis with the aim of investigating bereaved parents’ access to services, care, and networks of support, during the pandemic after their bereavement. ResultsAll parents had experience of utilising reconfigured maternity and/or neonatal, and bereavement care services during the pandemic. The themes utilised in the template analysis were: 1) The Shock & Confusion Associated with Necessary Restrictions to Daily Life; 2) Fragmented Care and Far Away Families; 3) Keeping Safe by Staying Away; and 4) Impersonal Care and Support Through a Screen. Results suggest access to maternity, neonatal, and bereavement care services were all significantly reduced, and parents’ experiences were notably affected by service reconfigurations. ConclusionsOur findings, whilst preliminary, are important to document now, to help inform care and service provision as the pandemic continues and to provide learning for ongoing and future health system shocks. We draw conclusions on how to enable development of safe and appropriate services during this pandemic and any future health crises, to best support parents who experience a pregnancy loss or whose babies die.
AB - BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented risk to the global population. Maternity care in the UK was subject to many iterations of guidance on how best to reconfigure services to keep women, their families and babies, and healthcare professionals safe. Parents who experience a pregnancy loss or perinatal death require particular care and support. PUDDLES is an international collaboration investigating the experiences of recently bereaved parents who suffered a late miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death during the global COVID-19 pandemic, in seven countries. In this study, we aim to present early findings from qualitative work undertaken with recently bereaved parents in the United Kingdom about how access to healthcare and support services was negotiated during the pandemic. MethodsIn-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with parents (N=24) who had suffered a late miscarriage (n=5; all mothers), stillbirth (n=16; 13 mothers, 1 father, 1 joint interview involving both parents), or neonatal death (n=3; all mothers). Data were analysed using a template analysis with the aim of investigating bereaved parents’ access to services, care, and networks of support, during the pandemic after their bereavement. ResultsAll parents had experience of utilising reconfigured maternity and/or neonatal, and bereavement care services during the pandemic. The themes utilised in the template analysis were: 1) The Shock & Confusion Associated with Necessary Restrictions to Daily Life; 2) Fragmented Care and Far Away Families; 3) Keeping Safe by Staying Away; and 4) Impersonal Care and Support Through a Screen. Results suggest access to maternity, neonatal, and bereavement care services were all significantly reduced, and parents’ experiences were notably affected by service reconfigurations. ConclusionsOur findings, whilst preliminary, are important to document now, to help inform care and service provision as the pandemic continues and to provide learning for ongoing and future health system shocks. We draw conclusions on how to enable development of safe and appropriate services during this pandemic and any future health crises, to best support parents who experience a pregnancy loss or whose babies die.
KW - Pregnancy Loss
KW - Perinatal Death
KW - Miscarriage
KW - Stillbirth
KW - Neonatal Death
KW - COVID-19
KW - Maternity Care
KW - Service Reconfiguration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121700738&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12884-021-04292-5
DO - 10.1186/s12884-021-04292-5
M3 - Article
SN - 1471-2393
VL - 21
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
JF - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
IS - 1
M1 - 840
ER -