At a Loss: Bereavement Care When a Baby Dies

Synopsis

The death of a baby - before or after birth - or of a child, must be one of the most traumatic experiences for a family to live through. Other more hidden losses, involving the loss of hope and expectations, can occur through the adoption process, for example, or when having to live with infertility. Bereavement care in such circumstances poses one of the greatest personal challenges for health care professionals. Not only are sensitive, empathic counselling and support skills required, there are also many administrative duties which need to be carefully facilitated on an individual-needs basis, and within the context of a multicultural society. Such care is especially challenging when the carers themselves also feel 'at a loss' - for ways of comforting the bereaved, and for ways of coping with their own sense of loss and grief.