Undergraduate midwifery students' experiential learning of perinatal bereavement care: A qualitative analysis.

It is widely acknowledged that midwives are essential in providing care for mothers experiencing perinatal death. However, midwifery students lack the knowledge and skills needed to deal with perinatal death, and. There is limited research on perinatal bereavement care training for midwifery students. To investigate undergraduate midwifery students' experiential learning of perinatal bereavement care and serve as a reference for future perinatal bereavement care teaching and training. Qualitative descriptive design. University in Guangzhou, China. Undergraduate midwifery students at a university in Guangzhou, China. This research was conducted at a university in Guangzhou, China. The participants were recruited using purposeful sampling. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 midwifery students who participated in perinatal bereavement care training from May to June 2023. The Colalizzi 7-step data analysis method was used for data analysis. From the data, five themes emerged: 1) immersive experience of perinatal bereavement care, 2) formation of perspectives on perinatal bereavement care, 3) clarification of the service boundaries and internalization of the professional service spirit, 4) emotional impact and coping strategies, and 5)) factors influencing practice optimization. Experiential learning is an effective teaching strategy. However, participants continued to feel unprepared to provide perinatal bereavement care. Implementing relevant training, disseminating perinatal bereavement care knowledge and skills, and enhancing the ability of midwifery students to manage and cope with the psychological impact of perinatal death are important. • Undergraduate midwifery (MW) students' perinatal bereavement care (PBC) experience was analyzed. • The first study published regarding MW students' learning experiences in reformed education program in a Chinese university. • Study findings can facilitate MW educators with PBC teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]