An Exploration of the Emotive Experiences and the Representations of Female Care Providers Working in a Perinatal Hospice. A Pilot Qualitative Study

Congenital anomalies are the principal cause of neonatal mortality in the United States. Families who decide to continue gestation and reject termination of pregnancy benefit from the experience of Perinatal Hospice (PH). There are no current studies that show if there may be positive outcomes for care-providers as well. The first step is exploration of their emotive experiences and representations beyond burnout or stress disorders and the possible negative outcomes. With this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 specialists. An Elementary Context analysis was performed with T-Lab software. Providers experience positive elements even though they work in a painful reality and face the possibility of ‘failure’ of medical science or the loss of a patient. They declare themselves to be satisfied and do not demonstrate deep suffering or particular psychophysical disorders. They consider their job as a ‘gift’. There is a lack of research exploring the encouraging aspects of their work, such as coping strategies or positive emotions.