Abstract

Stillbirth, the death of a baby before birth, is associated with significant psychological and social impacts that can be lessened by respectful and supportive bereavement care. We aimed to describe bereavement care practices offered to parents across different high-income and middle-income countries. We carried out an online survey of parents of stillborn babies between December 2014 and February 2015. We looked at difference between how often nine bereavement care practices were offered in high-income and middle-income countries. Over three thousand parents (3,041) took part. Major differences in how often nine bereavement care practices were offered were reported by women in high-income countries compared with women in middle-income countries. All nine practices were reported to occur more frequently by women in high income countries, including opportunity to see and hold their baby. The offering of all nine bereavement care practices was reported more often by parents from The Netherlands. Bereavement care after stillbirth varies between countries. Future research should look at why these differences occur, their impact on parents, and whether differences should be addressed, particularly how to support effective communication, decision-making, and follow-up care.