Glynou Anna, Galatis Dionysios G, Yalelis Vassilis, Sotiriadis Alexandros, Pampanos Andreas, Sarella Angeliki, Chasalevri Eirini, Koukaki Maria, Peitsidis Panagiotis M, Eleftheriades Makarios
Department of Midwifery, Maternity Hospital Elena Venizelou, Athens, GRC.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, GRC.
Cureus. 2024 Mar 23;16(3):e56787. doi: 10.7759/cureus.56787. eCollection 2024 Mar.
Breaking bad news is one of the most difficult responsibilities in medical practice. Although medical staff in clinical practice often encounter situations that necessitate the announcement of unpleasant news, there is a lack of training regarding their communication with patients and their families. Effective interaction between medical staff and pregnant women constitutes a crucial component of breaking down unpleasant news. This research aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitude of health professionals, particularly obstetricians, and midwives, regarding the announcement of bad news during prenatal screening.
The study was conducted between September 2017 and April 2018. One hundred professional obstetricians and midwives involved in fetal and prenatal medicine in Greece were part of the study. The study consisted of two parts: the first covered the emotional state of healthcare professionals during the announcement of unpleasant news, and the second covered the appropriate way to inform unpleasant results during prenatal testing.
In this study, only 41% of the participants considered that they felt comfortable discussing issues related to the diagnosis of an unpleasant result during prenatal testing with the pregnant woman/patient, or her relatives, and 85% accepted that they had experienced feelings of sadness, anxiety, or guilt when announcing unpleasant results. Furthermore, 87% of the participants believed that the non-verbal communication component (eye contact, body language) plays an important role in breaking bad news. Finally, 65% considered that prolonged monitoring of the ultrasound screen during prenatal screening does not increase the anxiety of pregnant women when carried out for a better medical opinion.
Delivering bad news during prenatal screening creates stress for the parents. As far as the ethical, cultural, psychological, and legal complicity of healthcare professionals is concerned, communicating unpleasant news has been a subject of discussion by many experts. It is important to understand the concerns of women regarding the risks of counseling.
传达坏消息是医疗实践中最困难的职责之一。尽管临床实践中的医务人员经常遇到需要宣布不愉快消息的情况，但他们在与患者及其家属沟通方面缺乏培训。医务人员与孕妇之间的有效互动是传达不愉快消息的关键组成部分。本研究旨在调查卫生专业人员，特别是产科医生和助产士，在产前筛查期间宣布坏消息方面的知识和态度。
该研究于2017年9月至2018年4月进行。希腊100名从事胎儿和产前医学的专业产科医生和助产士参与了该研究。该研究包括两个部分：第一部分涵盖了医疗保健专业人员在宣布不愉快消息时的情绪状态，第二部分涵盖了在产前检测中告知不愉快结果的适当方式。
在本研究中，只有41%的参与者认为他们在与孕妇/患者或其亲属讨论产前检测中不愉快结果的诊断相关问题时感到自在，85%的参与者承认他们在宣布不愉快结果时曾经历过悲伤、焦虑或内疚的情绪。此外，87%的参与者认为非语言沟通成分（眼神接触、肢体语言）在传达坏消息中起着重要作用。最后，65%的参与者认为产前筛查期间长时间监测超声屏幕以获得更好的医学意见时，不会增加孕妇的焦虑。
产前筛查期间传达坏消息会给父母带来压力。就医疗保健专业人员的伦理、文化、心理和法律复杂性而言，传达不愉快消息一直是许多专家讨论的主题。了解女性对咨询风险的担忧很重要。
