Companioning at a Time of Perinatal Loss: A Guide for Nurses, Physicians, Social Workers, Chaplains and Other Bedside Caregivers

Intended for nurses, doctors, midwives, social workers, chaplains, and hospital support staff, this guide gives caring and practical advice for helping families grieve properly after losing a child at birth. As the special needs of families experiencing perinatal loss are intense and require more than just the bereavement standards in most hospitals, this handbook offers tips and suggestions for opening up communication between caregivers and families, creating a compassionate bedside environment, and helping with mourning rituals. Encouraging continual grief support, these specific companioning strategies can help ease the pain of this most sensitive situation.

Jane Heustis, RN, is the Pathways Perinatal Loss Support Coordinator at Methodist Hospital and the parish nurse at Irvington United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Marcia Meyer Jenkins, RN, is a childbirth educator and perinatal bereavement coordinator at St. Francis Hospital and parish nurse at Russellville Community Church in Russellville, Indiana. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, serves as the director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition. He writes the "Children and Grief column for Bereavement Magazine and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, and Today. He is the author of Healing a Teen's Grieving Heart, Healing Your Grieving Heart, and Understanding Your Grief. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.