Support for Fathers, Mothers and other Family Members following Perinatal Death - Essay Example

Critique of Systematic Research Review (SRR) Support for Fathers, Mothers and other Family Members following Perinatal Death The act of losing a baby presents devastating experiences to fathers, mothers and other members of the family. Existing evidence from previous researches shows that at least one out of every five parents usually experience prolonged grief following the death of a baby (Wilson, 2013). The intense grief is usually felt just after the death of the baby, around birth time. It is thus important for parents as well as other members of the family to receive appropriate and timely support from both health networks and other caregivers. The SRR concerning the need of support following perinatal death is the best action to undertake so as parents and other family members are rescued from devastating loss of the eagerly awaited babies (Gagnon & Sandall , 2007). Supporting parents and other family members following the loss of a baby, during birth, is important and should be embraced by all members of the community. Both health workers and family members need to be informed about the benefits of providing support to the bereaved family (KainVJ., 2006). There are a wide range of constructive support services that health workers and other caregivers can provide to bereaved families, as a way of reducing the intense grief being experienced. The support services include nursing, medical, midwifery, psychology, social work, counseling or community-based health care. It should be noted that a provision of primary healthcare interventions, counseling and psychological support to both parents and families are very crucial, especially during the time that a baby dies. Also, parents and bereaved families should be surrounded by a strong family as well as good social network during perinatal death. Many reasons have been suggested to convince medical practitioners and other health workers to be on the frontline in ensuring that parents and families suffering from perinatal death receive appropriate support to facilitate faster recovery from the sudden loss. Failure to provide support to parents and families after perinatal death can have negative implications on the bereaved family. Most of the family members, especially parents, can develop serious health complications as they moan the death of their baby. The main reason for the development of health complications among parents results from the fact that children as a source of joy to the parents and their death destroys the happiness. The study designs used to conduct Systematic Research Review relied on three inclusion criteria. The first inclusion criteria applied during the study considered clear definition of perinatal death as neonatal death or still birth for every trial conducted. The other criteria involved comparison of professional or social support, or both, following perinatal death. The third inclusion criteria considered during study design was identification of loss proportion after follow up. The three criterions formed the basis of selecting subjects to participate in the SRR. The evidence provided for analysis during the research was both reliable and applicable. The study identified different types of interventions in practice, following perinatal loss. The interventions included general support that parents receive while at the hospital following the death of their children (Horey, Flenady, Heazell & Khong, 2013). General hospital supportive services ranged from holding and naming the child, offering of dignified funeral rites as well as diagnosis of fetal abnormalities. These interventions are important in strengthening the parents, so that they are able to cope with a stressful event. The other interventions, cited as evidence of study, included specific spiritual and cultural supports. Also, support services identified were counseling, specialized psychotherapy, community as well as online support. The evidence revealed that parents who do not get appropriate support after perinatal death experienced displayed symptoms such as anxiety and depressed mood, post-traumatic stress, pathological grief reactions and complicated grief. Other outcomes of inappropriate support after perinatal death were social maladjustments, family disruptions and breakdown. The evidence collected concerning the state and experience among parents and other family members following perinatal death were authentic. The authenticity of the study designs and evidence collected is supported by the fact that researchers used standard clinical criteria during the research as well as while reviewing the evidence. Among the standard criteria used during the research included giving out questionnaires to legible participants. Also, structured interviews took place while collecting the desired data. Grouping of participants adds more weight on the value of the evidence presented in the study. Grouping of participants involved dividing them into subgroups depending on the seriousness of the outcome. The evidence contained in the research clearly describes the situation that parents and other family members go through following the death of their baby. The devastating outcomes of losing a baby have been well captured in the research. The intense grief experienced by parents following perinatal death is, however, manageable. In order to effectively manage and control the level of grief experienced by parents after perinatal death, the study has identified a number of appropriate support services (Bryanton , Beck & Montelpare , 2013). If well implemented, the study showed that the suggested support services are appropriate in reducing grief, anxiety and other psychological stresses. The clarity of the study on effects of perinatal death to the parents and other members of the family can be described as satisfactory. Looking at the study objective, one can comfortably recommend that the research was necessary. The study objective clearly captured the missing as well as important healthcare services that ought to be offered to parents and families after perinatal death. There have been unreported cases whereby parents and families have not been offered appropriate support services following the death of their baby. The study revealed lack of adequate general hospital services as well as follow up services to comfort the bereaved family. The method used for searching information specifically targeted Cochrane registers with information concerning women pregnancy as well as childbirth group trials. Two independent review authors spearheaded the search process, to ascertain eligibility of the data to be reviewed. To avoid uncertainty, trials did not feature anywhere during data analysis. The main reason for abandoning trials during result presentation was their unavailability, as well as to make the research finding more convincing to both the general public and health personnel. The information presented by the research is, therefore, clear and credible to support the need for parents to receive necessary support services following the death of their baby. Under the findings sections, researchers highlighted various issues that affected the study. For instance, there was an identification of one trial that could not be used in the study. The excluded trial presented data with some difficulties in analyzing. Researchers were not able to separate women affected by perinatal death according to their study designs, basing on termination of pregnancy or other cases such as stillbirth. Researchers tried to contact the author of the information, but his delayed response resulted into exclusion of the trials. Three trials were then identified as eligible and deserved inclusion; however, there were no records of follow ups. Lack of follow ups resulted to the three trials being excluded. There no information concerning biasness in the included studies. The effects of various interventions were also missing. Lack of information on effects of identified interventions presented a room for future studies. The author’s conclusion introduced doubts on the importance of the research. The author openly confirms inefficiency of the research review to offer a reliable solution to parents and health workers following problems associated with perinatal death. The reason for inapplicability of the study results from the fact that randomized trials were not available during the study. However, the author recommends provision of intervention measures to parents and family members after neonatal death or stillbirth. The study recommends the need of methodological trials while researching on the true implications of various interventions measures on parents, following perinatal death. The trials to be relied upon during the research should ensure that the range defining outcome measures are clearly defined and assessed by standard psychometric tools. Bibliographies Bryanton J, Beck CT, Montelpare W. (2013). Postnatal parental education for optimizing infant general health and parent-infant relationships. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD004068. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004068.pub4 Gagnon AJ, Sandall J. (2007). Individual or group antenatal education for childbirth or parenthood, or both. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD002869. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002869.pub2 Horey D, Flenady V, Heazell AEP, Khong TY. (2013). Interventions for supporting parents’ decisions about autopsy after stillbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD009932. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009932.pub2 KainVJ. (2006). Palliative care delivery in the NICU: what barriers do neonatal nurses face?. Neonatal Network;25(6): 387–92. Koopmans L, Wilson T, Cacciatore J, Flenady V. (2013). Support for mothers, fathers and families after perinatal death. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD000452. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000452.pub3 - See more at: http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD000452/PREG_support-for-mothers-fathers-and-families-after-perinatal-death#sthash.WqQBFNYv.dpuf Read More