Dr. Joyce Merrigan
National Perinatal Association – Board of Directors
Title: If we don’t do it, it will never be done.†Quality Care for Women who Miscarry Perinatal Bereavement Education for Emergency Department Nurses
Biography
Biography: Dr. Joyce Merrigan
Abstract
There exists a great divide; a disparaging gap in the provision of care afforded to women who experience pregnancy loss. This gap hinges on the gestational age and where a woman obtains medical care. Most noteworthy is that the care offered correlates to State and institutional policy and expectations for the education and competencies of the nurses who provide care.
Post 20 weeks gestation women receive care in the labor and delivery setting, provided by nurses who are educated in bereavement care. Families have authority, are supported to participate in shared decision making to comprehensively include their values, preferences and goals, integrated into their plan of care. Prior to the completion of 20 weeks, most women find medical care in an emergency department where there is a notable deficiency in the significance placed on the skills and tools required to provide appropriate bereavement care. This reportedly results in moral compromise, professional distress and burnout for nurses, and translates into inadequate care for women and their families.
Standards and expectations are outlined in The National Perinatal Association Position Paper “Interdisciplinary Guidelines for Care of Women Presenting to the Emergency Department with Pregnancy Loss,” and Resolve Through Sharing® “It’s Never Too Early Miscarriage White Paper,” amongst other publications. We must expand the knowledge and skillset of nurses who provide care to women experiencing pregnancy loss whether it be in the provider’s office, emergency department, and same-day surgical, post-anesthesia, or inpatient settings.
If we don’t do it, it will never be done.