THREATENED PERINATAL LOSS: DEFINING AND MANAGING STRATEGIES USED BY PARENTS OF CRITICALLY ILL INFANTS.
Contributors: University Of Illinois At Chicago, Health Sciences Center.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 288
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: The purpose of this study was to identify the losses experienced by parents of critically ill newborns and to describe the management strategies used by parents to manage these losses. A secondary purpose was to compare the experience of mothers with that of fathers.

Using participant observation strategies, data was collected in a level III neonatal intensive care unit. A subsample of 20 couples were interviewed at home during the month following the discharge of their infant. Interviews and descriptive field notes were transcribed and numbered line by line using a software program for qualitative data analysis (Seidel et al., 1985). Data were analyzed using the qualitative method of constant comparison described by Glaser (1978).

The core variable which emerged in this study was MINIMIZING LOSS. Three dimensions of loss were uncovered involving losses related to: (a) control, (b) infant survival and prognosis, and (c) parental identity.

Losses related to control were largely a function of the uncertainty and unpredictability inherent to the situation. Strategies used by parents to manage losses related to control included: (a) constructing a working definition of the situation, (b) moderating volume and detail of information, and (c) giving up control or struggling to achieve control.

Losses related to survival and long-term prognosis were managed by constructing an optimistic definition of the situation. The uncertainty inherent to the situation allowed both the working definition and the optimistic definition to exist simultaneously.

Losses related to parental identity were managed by (a) developing competence in a parental role (b) developing an affectional tie with the infant.

The findings of this study have implications for providers working with parents of high-risk infants. Awareness of the multiple dimensions of loss and their associated management can assist providers in planning care for parents that is sensitive and tailored to their individual needs.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-10, Section: B, page: 4454.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, 1989.

School code: 0806.