"People may not always remember what you did, or what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel" -ANONYMOUS
Introduction
This site is intended to help educate nurses and other medical professionals on how to deal with and help patients deal with perinatal loss. I have chosen Obstetric nursing as my primary field of work because I get to experience the beginning of life every day, and avoid the end of life illnesses and related care that nurses in other fields deal with daily. However, we as obstetric nurses do experience loss, albeit less frequently. These loss of life experiences are usually unexpected and often difficult to deal with as a professional. I have often sought resources when dealing with this type of loss and am pleased to have the opportunity to share what I have found to help both myself and my patients.
Objectives
- Define perinatal loss.
- Define the common types of loss and understand the frequency of occurrence
- Identify risk factors for perinatal loss
- Identify signs and symptoms of perinatal loss
- Describe emotional responses
- Describe the process of grief and mourning
- Nursing diagnosis and interventions that apply to perinatal loss