The practising midwife
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The practising midwife · Feb 2013
ReviewThe midwife's role in caring for the needs of bereaved parents following a stillbirth.
The unexpected loss of a baby can be both a devastating and traumatic experience for parents. Inadequate care and support can potentially lead to mental health problems such as complicated or traumatic grief. This article will review the midwife's role in providing more effective meaningful and supportive care for bereaved parents following a stillbirth. It will also highlight the educational needs of student midwives to ensure they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to support bereaved parents.
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The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has updated its third stage of labour guidelines (RCM 2012) to be clearly supportive of a delay in umbilical cord clamping, although specific guidance on timing is yet to be announced. It is therefore imperative that both midwives and student midwives understand and are able to integrate delaying into their practice, as well as communicating to women the benefits; only in this way can we give women fully informed choices on this aspect of care. ⋯ A review of the evidence found no risks linked to delayed clamping, and no evidence that it cannot be used in combination with the administration of uterotonic drugs. Delayed cord clamping can be especially beneficial for pre term and compromised babies.