title: Experiences of Nurses Who Care for Women After Fetal Loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the experiences of, meaning for, and personal consequences for obstetric, emergency, and surgical nurses caring for women after fetal death and to determine how these nurses use Swanson's caring processes in providing such care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four focus groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hospitals within the same health care system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Registered nurses (N = 24) working in the obstetric, surgery, or emergency departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Swanson's Theory of Caring guided focus group questions that were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a continuously emergent process of data collection, data reduction, data display, and interpretation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All participants demonstrated all of Swanson's caring processes but used them preferentially according to situational exigencies and level of rapport with each woman. Nurses had positive and negative feelings associated with caring for women after fetal loss.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obstetric nurses provided relatively equal focus on all processes in the Theory of Caring except Maintaining Belief. Surgical and emergency department nurses focused primarily on the caring processes of Knowing and Doing For. The negative feelings reported by nurses mirror some emotions commonly associated with compassion fatigue. More research is needed to determine whether nurses caring for mothers experiencing fetal loss are at risk for compassion fatigue. Research is also needed to identify strategies and interventions to help nurses so they may continue to give the best care possible to these very vulnerable families without detriment to themselves.
authors.forename: Marianne H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hutti
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Polivka
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.forename: Savannah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clemens
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D000068376:Compassion Fatigue / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000379:methods; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D000069469:Medical-Surgical Nursing / Q000379:methods; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009773:Obstetric Nursing / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: caring; fetal loss; nurses