The hardest moment: How nurses adapt to neonatal death

Abstract

Thirteen nurses were interviewed over an eight week period to explore their adaptive responses to neonatal death. A process of adaptation was identified that included several phases through which these nurses proceeded before they finalized the death experience for themselves. These phases included responses to the resuscitation of the infant; the measures taken to console the bereaved parents; feelings associated with difficult moments during the dying process; the behaviors utilized to strengthen themselves before and after the death; reactions to the silence in the unit that occurred afterwards; the values they discovered when reflecting on how the death was handled; and the development of a philosophical meaning from their experiences. Data were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methodology.