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SACH  Soundings
 No 9 March 2002

Reflecting on Practice

Chatting with colleagues, a supervisor or divinity students about how things have gone with patient or a family is one thing but embarking on some research to reflect on practice is a whole new ball game for me. However the motivation for embarking on qualitative research into the significance of welcoming (blessing, baptism and non-religious naming) and funeral rituals, involving chaplains, for parents around the time of death of their baby is to reflect on the current practice of chaplains working in Simpsons (in Edinburgh) and hopefully, to inform future practice

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In Simpsons in 2001 there were 5,901 deliveries, of which 149 resulted in a second trimester death, stillbirth or neonatal death. Chaplains were involved in performing some sort of ritual for under half of those babies. I am interested in hearing from some parents what those rituals meant to them, what importance do the rituals have in the story of their family as they adjust to the death of a baby and how did they view the role of the chaplain in helping  to create with their family, where possible, appropriate rituals and perform them.
In order to do this I hope to hold in-depth interviews,  with the parents of 20 babies who have died in Simpsons two to six months after the death. These will be parents with whom my colleagues Iain Telfer and Anne Mulligan, as well as myself have worked (I'm grateful to them for their willingness and openness to allow me to do this - its going to cost a few drinks I suspect!). I am currently writing a protocol for the project, as well filling in the appropriate forms, for the local ethics committee. To help plan my research design, which I'm still scratching my head over, I've attended some classes at Edinburgh University and spoken to various researchers who have experience of interviewing people about sensitive topics - which has been invaluable. Use of study leave has been very helpful. One such researcher, Hazel McHaffie, wrote Crucial Decisions at the Beginning of Life: Parents experiences of treatment withdrawal from infants which is well worth a read (£35 a copy but worth having in any chaplaincy department ). Whatever final methodology I come up with - the aim is to find a research method which best enables parents to tell their story and share their experience while maintaining utmost concern for the parents' well-being.- it will involve drawing common themes out of the in depth interviews, as well as ensuring differences are also heard and written up. After all, the meaning found and invested in ritual is highly subjective. Ensuring that informed voluntary consent is obtained before embarking upon an interview is paramount.
I am very fortunate to have the support of the lead clinicians in neonatology and obstetrics, as well as the hospital management. The clinicians are going to help with recruitment for the study and our bereavement counsellor in the maternity unit will be available to parents should the interviews facilitate the re-living of past experiences in an unhelpful way. The interviews themselves are not designed to be therapeutic but previous research shows the telling or re-telling of bereavement experiences potentially can be helpful to parents. 
If anyone has any suggestions or ideas around this topic of research I'd love to hear from you.

Ewan Kelly