Nurses’ Reported Use of Therapeutic Interventions Surrounding a Stillbirth Event

Psychological alterations and therapeutic interventions utilized for mothers who have suffered a stillbirth have been assessed and addressed in prior literature. This researcher reviewed ten articles highlighting the depression, grief, guilt, stress and concerns that can arise and interventions that were initiated within weeks immediately following stillbirth, during the time of a subsequent pregnancy, and a few years after having a subsequent child. An increased utilization of healthcare and health care provider presence have shown to positively influence the psychological effects of stillbirth. This researcher looked into the frequency and variety of which these interventions are being implemented in a quantitative descriptive research study. 14 registered nurse participants provided subjective data of the frequency and variety of intervention utilized on a five point Likert Scale. Out of 23 evidenced based practice interventions listed in the survey, 75% of the interventions were being utilized at a high frequency of frequently (4) to always (5). Each participant utilized around 20 interventions at a high frequency. This study shows that interventions are being implemented at a high frequency and variety. Further research can be done to obtain objective data on the frequency and variety of interventions on a larger sample size and additional research on the effectiveness of interventions that participants have suggested in this study