Luto perinatal: o desafio de ressignificar a morte de um filho

Abstract

Perinatal death has a great impact on the lives of bereaved families, when a child is lost, the natural process of life is reversed. Parents face not only their child's death, but also the loss of their hopes and future plans, as the repercussions and burdens are immense, having a continuing influence on many aspects of their lives and pathways. Objective: the aim of this study is to describe and understand the experiences and perceptions of parents who experienced perinatal death. Method: this is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, carried out with 14 women and 1 man who experienced perinatal death. The selection of participants was through the snowball technique. Data collection was carried out with the aid of a semi structured questionnaire and interviews were carried out through video calling using the WhatsApp application, in which only the audio was recorded, with the images preserved in full. To analyze the results, thematic analysis was used. Results: the thematic analysis resulted in four categories, namely: living in mourning; communication of bad news and professional assistance in the care of perinatal grief; support network: together is possible; and resignifying the death of a child. Conclusion: the present study allowed for an approximation and better understanding of perinatal grief. In general, it showed that death in the perinatal period is an event of extreme grief and suffering. It should be noted that family, marital and social support and the exchange of experience with other bereaved parents are important tools in the elaboration of grief. On the other hand, aggravating situations were the lack of professional and care in the care of perinatal grief, and the social non-recognition of perinatal grief. Above all, even so, it was concluded that it is possible to give new meaning to the death of a child.