Exploring and Supporting Parents' Stories of Loss in the NICU: A Narrative Study.
Qual Health Res
; 33(14): 1279-1290, 2023 12.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37933825
ABSTRACT
Death is no stranger to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Extreme prematurity, congenital abnormalities, and other complexities can turn what was hoped to be a very exciting moment in a family's life into one of despair and grief. There are many infants that not only do not survive but also have a medicalized death necessitating complex decision-making, weighing quality versus duration of life. We can learn from the stories of parents who chose palliative care for their children. In this narrative inquiry study, we elicited bereaved parents' stories and reflections on the lives of their children and the care they received in the NICU. From a narrative ethics perspective, their stories speak to normative aspects of parenting, decision-making, and receiving medical care that affect their moral sense-making of their NICU experiences as well as their longer-term living with the loss of their children. Their stories express the importance of having had meaningful time with their children, maintaining direct and frequent communication, acknowledging uncertainty, and emphasizing compassion as methods of providing support to parents as they navigate their bereavement.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Padres
/
Aflicción
/
Unidades de Cuidado Intensivo Neonatal
Límite:
Child
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Newborn
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Qual Health Res
Asunto de la revista:
ENFERMAGEM
/
PESQUISA EM SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá