She had however, gone on to have a healthy second pregnancy, from which she delivered a baby boy born vaginally at term. Her husband whose name has also been changed to protect identity will be called John.
Communication fundamentally determines any relationship. Enabling communication through a variety of means improves information and links between all involved. For the most part in midwifery I find myself congratulating parents and enjoying their momentous occasion, whereby on this occasion I had to adjust my communication skills to enable me to commiserate these parents, Mander (1994) explains this by saying the aspects of care which health professionals automatically give and the different information to be given at this time may be increasingly difficult. Dealing with people's emotions can be difficult, as emotions are infamously challenging to deal with especially when breaking bad news. On reflection this became apparent when Sue and John were informed that their baby was stillborn, my initial reaction was that Sue would need more support than John, when in fact it was John who initially broke down and Sue remained relatively calm. This has made me look at my future practice, when caring for bereaved parents I am now aware it is vital that for me to remember as a health care professional that both mother and father are empowered to be able to put across their wishes and feelings, this may be by asking questions or having time to reflect over the events and are also made to feel able to gain information from those offering them support. (Dent 1994). For many years it was believed that fathers suffer less grief and therefore fewer symptoms of depression than the mother however as health care professionals we still have to remember that they need to be offered emotional support and need to feel that the health care professionals caring for them are acknowledging their grief and inform them that there is information and support available for them also if they so wish.
