Medical staff copes with the event

What do a medical staffs fear in these situations?

Firs of all, we are afraid to be criticized by a people around us: bereavement patients and our colleagues as well.
Fear to face with angry parents leads us rapidly give them a speech about what happened with big amount of unnecessary medical terms and keeping a “cold face” of doctor. In fact, it is definitely not good way to provide the grief care, because increases a gap in mutual understanding between medicals and patients. In such situation very naturally that the mother can realize that it was her guilty, she did something wrong if the doctor expresses the situation so aggressively. But the doctor keeps this communication way by reason of unconsciously self-protection only.

Another common feeling is medical staff mentally cannot accept the fact of the baby’s death, because it was not detected any obstetrical pathology during antenatal checks up: “I did everything right, there was no single reason to kill the baby!”.
Mostly doctors worry to be criticized by their colleagues. There are many cases that innocent professionals lose own confidence. Even we perfectly know that we did everything exactly as it should be done in the situation, we are afraid to be criticized. Then we try to make sure ourselves:“Of course, I have done my work right”.

Panic because such thing should not have happened. Sometimes, right after the baby’s death is detected, we cannot say anything in front of the patients. It can happen sometimes. It is important to know that this reaction is not inappropriate; it is normal human’s reaction on unexpected situation.

If doctor cannot say any word in the situation, better do not try to give a professional speech: talk, when you will be ready, “Do not harm!” by wrong way of communication with your patients.

Though, the word of “obstetrics” means “stand by” in Latin language. Usually we have no chance to change the fact, but can support, encourage and help for natural process.
Obviously, to keep the professional approach is not so easy, it required a special training and own desire to commit this work not only from medical, but also from social point of view. There are two most famous way: education and debriefings.

Medicals need to avoid such common way of cope as a creation of “the physiological shield”. That seems help to be a good professional with easy overcoming of unnecessary sensitivity and tears. In reality such approach makes more problems then seem could be. Absence of understanding the parent’s feeling, loss of humane care on the bereavement parents, desire to protect only own feelings; finally turn the parents to be an enemy of medical staffs. The best way is to learn the situation from the parent’s point of view as well.

Undoubtedly, the best professional approach implicates appropriate balance between the due medical care and unconcealed human attitude.

(jointly with Dr. Masato Takeuchi).