[Perinatal and intrauterine infant death: professional practices and their effects on healthcare personnel].

INTRODUCTION

The sorrow caused by perinatal loss is a phenomenon of pathological mourning, a burden for the parents, their environment and the medical personnel, yet, it is a less studied field.

AIM: (1) To present the applied practice in healthcare institutions, to compare the valid protocol with the effective help provided and to study how these events affect the helping personnel professionally and psychologically.

METHOD: In-depth interviews with the involved personnel (n = 8). The authors studied the practice of the given institution; existing and wanted theoretical and practical competencies; personal attitude and the experienced difficulties.

RESULTS

Acting well professionally is a specially demanding task, with few tools to use when communicating, when helping the parents cope with sorrow, or when coping with their own feelings, all these involving a risk for burn-out.

CONCLUSIONS

The results can serve to create trainings aimed at helping the patients with adequate support and improving coping strategies.