Environmental Impacts of the Labor Ward on Bereaved Families

This article explores narratives of eight mothers who experienced a stillbirth in an
NHS labor ward between February, 2016, and May, 2020. Core stories were developed for
each participant. Aspects of environment within core stories were compared and contrasted
across participants to develop five meta-stories. Meta-stories explored the psychological
safety of the labor ward, the perception of the changing status of patient for mothers of
stillborn babies, the incomprehensible physical and emotional pain of stillbirth for the
mothers, stillborn mothers’ perceptions of worth and the impact of rooms designed for typical
birthing experiences. The findings are discussed alongside limitations of the study before
suggestions for future research are drawn.