Undergraduate midwifery students' experiential learning of perinatal bereavement care: A qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND

It is widely acknowledged that midwives are essential in providing care for mothers experiencing perinatal death. However, midwifery students lack the knowledge and skills needed to deal with perinatal death, and. There is limited research on perinatal bereavement care training for midwifery students.

AIM

To investigate undergraduate midwifery students' experiential learning of perinatal bereavement care and serve as a reference for future perinatal bereavement care teaching and training.

DESIGN

Qualitative descriptive design.

SETTING

University in Guangzhou, China.

PARTICIPANTS

Undergraduate midwifery students at a university in Guangzhou, China.

METHOD

This research was conducted at a university in Guangzhou, China. The participants were recruited using purposeful sampling. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 midwifery students who participated in perinatal bereavement care training from May to June 2023. The Colalizzi 7-step data analysis method was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

From the data, five themes emerged: 1) immersive experience of perinatal bereavement care, 2) formation of perspectives on perinatal bereavement care, 3) clarification of the service boundaries and internalization of the professional service spirit, 4) emotional impact and coping strategies, and 5)) factors influencing practice optimization.

CONCLUSIONS

Experiential learning is an effective teaching strategy. However, participants continued to feel unprepared to provide perinatal bereavement care. Implementing relevant training, disseminating perinatal bereavement care knowledge and skills, and enhancing the ability of midwifery students to manage and cope with the psychological impact of perinatal death are important.