Psychosocial Care of Early Bereaved Parents - A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study at German Maternity Wards

Abstract

The death of an infant shortly after birth places a massive psychological burden on the parents involved. The availability of compassionate obstetric care is an important contributor to the prevention of sequelae. The aim of this study is to survey the current practice of psychosocial care for parents in perinatal infant death in German hospitals and to investigate the association between hospital size and number of information services for parents and between support services for hospital staff and number of information services for bereaved parents. In a quantitative cross-sectional study in the form of a full survey, professionals in 206 German hospitals with maternity wards were interviewed using questionnaires. The data were analyzed using a regression analysis. 206 hospitals participated in the survey. The analyses confirm: Hospital size has a highly significant positive influence on the number of services for bereaved parents. The number of services provided to hospital staff has a highly significant positive influence on the number of informational services provided to bereaved parents. Recommendations for action from this study are: Special training of clinic staff on the topic of perinatal infant death, strengthening of the doctor-patient relationship through Balint or supervision groups, and promotion of internal and external interdisciplinary collaboration.