Browsing by Author "Swart, Ashwill Denzill"
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- ItemThe fathers experience of grief after a stillbirth(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Swart, Ashwill Denzill; Green, Sulina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A stillbirth is regarded as a devastating event for any parent and usually results in deep sorrow for them. This phenomenon is on the increase in South Africa with approximately 20 000 stillbirths reported annually. Statistics on the prevalence of stillbirths in the Western Cape Province indicate that approximately 14.6 percent of stillbirths occurred between 2003 and 2006. While the grief process of mothers after a stillbirth has been widely researched, the experience of fathers has been neglected, and even if it was included in a study, it was still not the primary aim of the study. Therefore, the research question for this study was “How do fathers grief after the experience of a stillbirth? Consequently, the aim of the study was to gain an understanding of the grieving process of fathers after their experience of a stillbirth. To achieve the aim of the study the following four objectives were formulated. To discuss the causes and consequences of stillbirth as medical phenomenon; to discuss the nature and extend of the grieving process of fathers after a stillbirth according to appropriate theoretical viewpoints; to investigate the grieving process of fathers after a stillbirth; and to make recommendations relating to the experience of the father’s grief process after a stillbirth based on the findings of the study. A qualitative research approach was employed combined with an exploratory and descriptive research design to investigate and describe the phenomenon being studied, namely the grief process of the father after a stillbirth. Ten fathers who experienced a stillbirth were involved in the study by means of a purposive sample. Data was gathered by means of a semi-structured interview schedule that was administered during individual interviews. Key findings of the study were that fathers experienced grief after a stillbirth in isolation, as they do not openly express their emotions. This included the father’s experience that culture, gender stereotypes, views of the church and religious community and the attitude of the professional hospital staff towards the father influenced his grief process. The findings also highlight those fathers made their wives or partners and living children their focus, which contributed to the postponement of their own grief and resorted to their destructive coping mechanisms. Fathers in the study expressed a need for support from professional hospital staff and found that counselling from the social worker was of significance in dealing with their grief. In the light of the findings, it is recommended that their wives or partners, society, cultural beliefs and religious communities, should acknowledge the fathers’ grief after the experience of a stillbirth, as it will allow them to openly grief. Professional hospital staff should design and implement support programmes that suit the specific needs of fathers whom grief after a stillbirth.