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The impact of perinatal death on obstetrics nurses: a longitudinal and cross-sectional examination

  • Menachem Ben-Ezra EMAIL logo , Yuval Palgi , Reut Walker , Ariel Many and Yaira Hamam-Raz
Published/Copyright: September 24, 2013
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Journal of Perinatal Medicine Volume 42 Issue 1

Abstract

Mental health and well-being among obstetrics nurses after perinatal death are understudied. Beyond the normal strain imposed on obstetric nurses, exposure to perinatal death may add significant stress. Two studies were conducted on obstetrics nurses. In study 1, obstetrics nurses were measured longitudinally, at baseline (with no recent history of exposure to perinatal death in the past 3 months), and 3 months after (2 months after two consecutive events of perinatal death have occurred 1 month after baseline). In study 2, a cross-sectional study was conducted comparing obstetrics nurses with a history of perinatal death (nurses from study 1) to obstetrics nurses with no history of exposure to perinatal death in the past 6 months. The results of study 1 showed that obstetrics nurses showed a higher level of psychiatric symptoms [posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, and psychosomatic symptoms] at time 2 (after exposure to perinatal death) in comparison to time 1. The results of study 2 showed a higher level of psychiatric symptoms (PTSD, depressive, and psychosomatic symptoms) in the exposed group in comparison to the non-exposed group. The effect of exposure to perinatal death is severe and needs to be addressed by developing intervention and preparation programs to help obstetric nurses cope with this critical incident.

Keywords: Obstetrics nurses; perinatal death; psychiatric symptoms; psychological trauma
Corresponding author: Prof. Menachem Ben-Ezra, PhD, School of Social Work, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel 40700, Israel, Tel.: +972 3 6760285, Fax: +972 3 9066359, E-mail:

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The authors stated that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Received: 2013-4-2
Accepted: 2013-8-29
Published Online: 2013-09-24
Published in Print: 2014-01-01

©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2013-0071
Keywords for this article
Obstetrics nurses; perinatal death; psychiatric symptoms; psychological trauma

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Recommendation and Guidelines for Perinatal Practice
  4. Inactivation of high-risk human papillomaviruses by Holder pasteurization: implications for donor human milk banking
  5. Review article
  6. Breastfeeding is natural but not always easy: intervention for common medical problems of breastfeeding mothers – a review of the scientific evidence
  7. Original article – Obstetrics
  8. Maternal mortality due to pandemic influenza A H1N1 2009 virus in Colombia
  9. Commentary
  10. Maternal mortality due to pandemic influenza A H1N1 2009 virus in Colombia
  11. Original articles – Obstetrics
  12. The peripheral whole-blood transcriptome of acute pyelonephritis in human pregnancya
  13. Extremely short cervix in the second trimester: bed rest or modified Shirodkar cerclage?
  14. The importance of repeated measurements of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for the prediction of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction
  15. Does the presence of thyroid antibodies affect the course and outcome of pregnancy in type 1 diabetic women?
  16. The impact of perinatal death on obstetrics nurses: a longitudinal and cross-sectional examination
  17. Effect of high-fat diet prior to pregnancy on hepatic gene expression and histology in mouse offspring
  18. The prevalence and clinical features of twin-twin transfusion syndrome with onset during the third trimester
  19. Original article – Newborn
  20. Short and medium-term outcomes of live-born twins after fetoscopic laser therapy for twin-twin transfusion syndromea
  21. Original article – Fetus
  22. Fetal volume at 11–14 gestational weeks: reference ranges and association with first trimester biochemical and biophysical markers
  23. Original articles – Newborn
  24. Resuscitation at birth in neonates with meningomyelocele
  25. Steroid profiling for congenital adrenal hyperplasia by tandem mass spectrometry as a second-tier test reduces follow-up burdens in a tertiary care hospital: A retrospective and prospective evaluation
  26. Influence of antenatal magnesium sulfate application on cord blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in premature infants
  27. Short communication
  28. Hepatitis C virus-associated thrombocytopenia in pregnancy: impact upon multidisciplinary care provision
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