Held and Heartfelt: Compounded Grief in Healthcare Professionals' Experiences of Pregnancy Loss

The loss of a pregnancy can be an emotionally traumatic experience and the support or lack of support from professional care providers and systematic barriers within healthcare organizations impacts the grieving trajectory. Nearly half of the Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics story authors in this symposium indicated that they were healthcare professionals, which, to their surprise, did not buffer the shock and emotional trauma of the loss. For this subset of authors, reflections on the assets and perils of this juxtaposition in the caregiving dyad revealed unique professional and systematic practice gaps and presented opportunities for improvement. Themes of secrecy, shame, and guilt surrounding reproductive loss have been documented phenomena in research. Self-blame and complicated bereavement were also implicit topics in many of the stories where esoteric knowledge of healthcare structures and professional roles was present. Given the role that affiliation had in the healthcare professionals' stories, further research on the impact that occupation may have on prolonged or complicated grieving related to pregnancy loss should be considered. This analysis provides a unique opportunity to recommend improvements in the supportive care provided to those experiencing pregnancy loss and reproductive grief.