When a baby dies, it is a tragedy at any time but during the COVID-19 pandemic, bereaved families and the professionals supporting them have been faced with additional and often distressing challenges. Restrictions have made access to hospitals difficult for partners and other family members, while support services that would normally be provided for bereaved parents have been unavailable or severely limited.
Witnessing and coping with this impact on families has been very difficult for professionals. Doctors, nurses and midwives have been telling us about the overwhelming impact COVID-19 has had on them. Personal protective equipment has removed the personal touch quite literally. Face masks and visors limit the effect of facial expressions and muffle voices, and the natural instinct of being tactile with mothers and babies has been denied to them.
For healthcare professionals, this has had a huge impact on their emotional well-being. Many of them say they feel they have not been able to provide the level of care they would normally, especially at a time when parents need it the most.
A recent survey conducted by the Royal College of Midwives ([RCM], 2020) found that 57% of midwives, maternity support workers and student midwives felt the current crisis had impacted on their mental health. Of the respondents, 34% also said they did not feel their employer gives them adequate support in the workplace when it comes to their mental health (RCM, 2020). In a comment piece published in BJM last year, I wrote about a growing awareness around the need to offer training and support to professionals working with bereaved families (Abramson, 2019).
There is a clear need for virtual bereavement training during COVID-19 and Paula Abramson is making it her priority to meet this need
We all recognise that bereaved parents deserve excellent care and support from professionals but my article highlighted that it is equally important for professionals to have specialised training to feel supported in this most challenging area. With the additional demands of working during a pandemic, professionals have needed access to bereavement training and support more than ever.
Before the pandemic, some of them were able to access face-to-face training but during the pandemic, with staffing pressures and social distancing restrictions, this is no longer possible. I knew how important it was to offer an alternative means of support. I have been providing bereavement training for midwives and allied health professionals for many years. Much of my work is centred around providing professionals with the skills and confidence to support bereaved parents. Good bereavement training however, should also include advice and techniques on how to look after yourself and your co-workers. With the onset of the pandemic, all face-to-face training was immediately cancelled and it became clear that something else was urgently needed.
Recognising this need, I designed a virtual training programme, offering a two-hour, bite-size version of my standard full-day workshop, tailored specifically to address some of the COVID-19 challenges faced by healthcare professionals. Subjects covered include how to communicate sensitively, the challenges of working during a pandemic, grief theories and how we take care of ourselves. The first three sessions were announced at the beginning of June and were fully booked within hours. Due to the high level of demand, further dates have continued to be added.
The training has been fully funded by baby loss charity Abigail's Footsteps, who provide support and counselling for bereaved parents and families, as well as specialist bereavement training for midwives and healthcare professionals. This meant it could be provided free to any professional offering care to parents following a pregnancy loss and when a baby dies, including midwives and student midwives, neonatal teams, sonographers, obstetricians, and gynaecology staff.
Faye Hill from Abigail's Footsteps told us:
‘The response has been overwhelming. There is clearly a huge need for this type of training and as the demand has been so high, we hope to announce future dates as soon as possible.’
Professionals who have attended the sessions, either from work settings or their homes, have overwhelmingly endorsed the training, saying it has provided a much-needed and easily accessible service during a very stressful time. They have adapted remarkably well to working online and the level of interaction both in the main sessions and in virtual breakout rooms has exceeded our expectations. One of the first midwives to take part told us that:
‘The training had provided a great and easily accessible learning platform, and an opportunity to share experiences with other midwives to help improve the support I can give to parents. It's so easy to feel isolated during this time and I was surprised at just how supported I felt thanks to this virtual session.’
It is a real privilege working with midwives who, despite the impact of COVID-19, have continued to provide the best care they can. I have seen how determined they are to have access to bereavement training to support them in this challenging area of their work and been impressed by how well they have adapted to the world of virtual training.
While I am looking forward to returning to hospitals to deliver face-to-face training, I have been heartened to see how this adapted virtual training has been able to reach so many people at such a difficult and challenging time.