When a baby dies it is a tragedy at any time, but during the current pandemic, bereaved families and the professionals supporting them, have been faced with additional and often distressing challenges. Restrictions around visiting has made access to hospitals difficult for partners and other family members, while support services that would normally be provided for bereaved parents, have been unavailable or severely limited.
Witnessing and coping with this impact on families has been very difficult for professionals. Doctors, nurses and midwives have been telling us about the impact covid-19 is having on them. PPE equipment has removed the personal touch quite literally. Face masks and visors limit the effect of facial expressions and muffle voices and the natural instinct of being tactile with mothers and babies has been denied to them.
Professionals need access to specialised bereavement training and support now more than ever. In normal times many of them are able to access face to face training, but during the pandemic something else was urgently needed. Recognising this need, baby loss charity, Abigail’s Footsteps has launched a series of virtual baby loss training sessions. These 2 hour sessions are fully funded by the charity and provided by Paula Abramson of Bereavement Training International (BTI).
Click the link below to read the full press release.