"We are not human beings having a spiritual EXPERIENCE, we are spiritual beings having a human experience" -Jean Watson
What Can I do to Help my Patients Get Through This?
Understanding the Idea of Caring
Maintain Belief: Sustaining faith in the others capacity to get through an event or transition and face the future with meaning
- Believing in/holding in esteem
- Maintain a hope-filled attitude
- Offer realistic optimism
- "Go the distance", or be there and present when you are with the patient
- Avoid assumptions
- Center on the one/ones cared for
- Assess thoroughly
- Seek cues
- Be there
- Convey availability
- Share feelings
- Convey non-burdening attitude
Care of Patient Dealing with Grief
Primary Assessment: Try to gather before seeing the patient.
- How many times pregnant
- Does she have children at home
- What is her diagnosis
- Has she had an ultrasound
- What does her face look like
- Is she crying
- Does she look at you when you enter the room
- Are there family members present
- Best to refer to "pregnancy loss" rather than "baby" or "fetus" until you are sure of her perception of the loss
- When did you find out you were pregnancy?
- Who have you told about your pregnancy?
- What plans had you made for this pregnancy?
- When was your due date?
- When did you find out you were loosing your pregnancy?
- What has your doctor told you?
- What signs and symptoms have you been experiencing?
- How are you doing with all of this?
- What are you feeling?
- Do you want someone with you right now? Is there someone I can call?
- GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO THE PATIENT TO ASSESS HOW SHE IS FEELING and LISTEN FOR THE WORD "BABY"
- Establish the meaning of each loss to the family
- Invite parents to talk about their losses
- Assess the family, respect their process
- Provide consistent caregivers, when possible
- prepare to deal with surprises about not feeling better, fear, happiness, and loyalty to lost baby
- Appreciate powerful emotion
- Communicate to ease stress, reinforce the strength of this baby
- Recognize there will be new fears