Midwives Interventions to Mothers with Prenatal Loss or Neonatal Death Occurring in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi

The death of a baby during pregnancy, birth or postpartum is a traumatic experience to a woman and her family, however it may also be a traumatic experience to the attending healthcare workers. Many women experience prenatal loss while to some is neonatal death. The study aimed to investigate midwives and doctors’ intervention towards prenatal loss and neonatal death in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi. Descriptive cross-sectional study was adopted for this research work. Instrument for collection of data was a questionnaire formulated in a 4-point Likert scale. A reliability coefficient of 0.82 was established proving the instrument reliable. Healthcare providers from the study areas made up the population, all of them were used for the study as the population was of manageable size. Data were analyzed with SPSS using mean, percentage and Pearson’s Chi-square. The result revealed that majority (85%) of participants were female and 40% were within the age range of 35 – 45 years. 88.3% and 90.0% of midwives and 50 (50.0%) and 6(60.0%) of the doctors possess good responses toward the psycho-social and physical intervention utilized toward prenatal loss and neonatal death respectively. The study concluded that most of the participants displayed good responses on psycho-social and physical interventions toward prenatal loss and neonatal death, but majority of them encounters challenges in during interventions toward the bereaved family. Prenatal loss or neonatal death is a severe loss, and it is important to acknowledge families’ appropriate need to grieve for their babies. There is need to establish a meaningful and appropriate way of caring for parents and families after the death of their infant. Also, physicians and midwives should play an important role in the mother’s transition throughout the grief process.