Abstract

The loss of a baby during the perinatal period leads to a real grieving process for mothers since they establish an attachment bond with their baby before birth. If relatives and environment bereaved underestimate this particular type of bereavement and its potential impact, this should not be the case for nursing staff. And yet, in African maternities, there are very few psychological support for mothers who are victims of perinatal death. Perinatal bereavement deserves to be analyzed in all its complexity. The aim of this study is to show the importance of psychological support for mothers who are victims of perinatal death in the prevention of negative impact on the mental health of mothers.

Quantitative and qualitative data are collected on a sample of 55 selected mothers through a purposive non-probability sampling strategy.

Quantitative data are processed with SPSS 20 software. Text processing as well as tables and graphs were produced with Word 2016 and Excel 2016 software. The results indicate on the one hand that the psychological support provided by the nursing staff reduces the harmful effects of perinatal bereavement on mothers and on the other hand, the need for the establishment of a support protocol for couples in health facilities.

Keywords: perinatal death, bereavement, mothers, psychological support.