Multiple pregnancy
Death of one twin during the perinatal period: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Parents with a diagnosis of fetal anomaly in twin pregnancies were not prepared for the complications they experienced in pregnancy. Clear and appropriate information in relation to perinatal palliative care should be provided to parents.
- Authors
Sarah Meaney, Keelin O'Donoghue
- Year
- 2017
- Journal Name
- Journal of Palliative Medicine
- Category
- Journal Article
- Keywords
- Multiple pregnancy, Neonatal death, Stillbirth
- Project
Causes and consequences of pregnancy loss and perinatal death
- Full Citation
Meaney S, Corcoran P, O'Donoghue K. Death of one twin during the perinatal period: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2017;20(3):290-293. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2016.0264.
- Link to Publication
- https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2016.0264
Abstract
Perinatal death is the death of a baby between 24?weeks of pregnancy (or weighing 500?g) and seven days after birth (a stillbirth or neonatal death). Twin pregnancy (pregnancy with two babies) is associated with a higher risk of perinatal death than a singleton pregnancy (pregnancy with one baby). We spoke with nine parents who had experienced the death of one twin during the perinatal period in a twin pregnancy, all of whom had a prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly. Parents spoke about how distressed they were when initially informed that there was a problem. On diagnosis, parents began a complex palliative journey, proceeding in the pregnancy and grieving one baby while trying to ensure the welfare of the co-twin. As parents were encouraged to focus on the “normal” twin, they felt their opportunity to grieve was reduced. It was important that the surviving twin would be identified as a twin and know of their sibling, but parents carried feelings of deep sadness, because this was also a reminder that one twin would always be missing. Clear and appropriate information in relation to perinatal palliative care should be provided to parents in twin pregnancies diagnosed with a fetal anomaly.