Crisis counseling following the death of a baby

With the death of a baby comes the end of a dream. Families, friends and society in general are emotionally ill-equipped to deal with the tragedy. Effective crisis counseling can make a major difference in helping all family members and friends through the turmoil of the experience. In this paper we show what we have learned during a year and a half of counseling families who have experienced the loss of stillborns and neonates and death in utero. The parents and their families and friends have taught us what they need to know and hear to better adjust to this death. The guidelines are simply expressed and will help the care giver (physician, nurse, social worker, clergy) to begin counseling the bereaved. The challenge to all of us when death occurs in our lives is whether we can accept what has happened and to make meaning out of it.