Poster Presentation
Water's Edge Ballroom (Hilton Waikoloa Village)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Water's Edge Ballroom (Hilton Waikoloa Village)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
The Effects of the Death of an Infant on Bereaved African American Mothers: A Pilot Study
Merry E. Foyt, RN, MS1, Margaret E. Wilson, PhD, CPNP2, and Martha J. Foxall, PhD, FAAN2. (1) School of Nursing, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA, (2) College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe the basic social process identified in an emerging theory of dealing with the death of an infant for African American mothers |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify the conditions and activities that influence the African American mother as she deals with the death of an infant |
The death of a child can be a debilitating and life-altering event (Rando, 1984). More than 50% of all deaths occurring before the age of 20 take place during the first year of life (Dyregrov, 1990). In the US, African American mothers experience a higher infant mortality rate than Anglo mothers. Prior grief research has not focused on infant death as experienced by African American mothers. In most studies on perinatal or infant death, African American mothers are not represented or are a small percentage of the study population. Many studies have grouped the study of all perinatal loss: miscarriage, stillborn, neonatal and infant death together as if the responses to each death are likely to be the same. This pilot grounded theory study focuses on the mothers of deceased infants that were live-born and a singleton. These infants have lived at least one month and died on or before the age on one year. The emerging theory may promote a better understanding of these mothers and help to identify new evidence-based options for nursing care of the bereaved African American mother.