Feelings of Guilt and Fantasies in Life Experiences of Brazilian Parents Due to Death of their Newborn: A Clinical-qualitative Study Conducted at a University Hospital

Abstract

Introduction

The relationship between parents and children is a complex link. In the process of pregnancy-birth-puerperium, frequent feelings such as responsibility, love, fear, uncertainty, generate strong expectations at birth. The death of a newborn may not be perceived as natural by the parents, considering the local culture and the context of great technological development of neonatology.

Objective

To explore possible guilt and fantasies in life experiences of parents during mourning process due to death of their newborn.

Method

Clinical-qualitative design, a particularization of qualitative methods here applied in clinical assistance settings with highlight to psychological aspects. Data collection with the technique of semi-directed interview with open-ended questions, in-depth. Sample intentionally constructed, with closure by theoretical saturation of information. The participants were 7 parents, mourning by the death of their child at the neonatal intensive care unit, in a university hospital of Campinas, São Paulo State.

Results

Feelings of guilt - conscious or not - lead to an internal and particular movement so that mourning can be lived. The participants showed certain embarrassment, accompanied by natural suffering facing to the cultural pattern that permeates the emotional experience. It predicts types of psychological meanings that the experience will give to the person.

Conclusion

Health professionals working with bereaved parents should consider more deeply the moment these one experienced, with emphasis on the details of the death scenery, beside the problems of illness and death properly so called.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.