ArticleHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2015
Parental decision making around perinatal autopsy: a qualitative investigation.
Article in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Factors affecting uptake of postmortem examination in the prenatal, perinatal and paediatric setting.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2018Pooled it
- Advancing neonatal autopsy by strengthening physician belief and fostering effective family communication.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- Facilitators and barriers to implementing and sustaining facility-based stillbirth reviews in India: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Factors Contributing to Uptake of Stillbirth Evaluations: A Qualitative Analysis.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Factors Associated with Perinatal Bereavement Among Mothers in Bolivia: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling in communities: exploring perceptions of families, funeral workers, religious and community leaders and healthcare providers from Pakistan.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Stillbirth Investigations: An Iconographic and Concise Diagnostic Workup in Perinatal Pathology.Journal of laboratory physicians · 2023Review
- Creating a postmortem examination decision aid: Suggestions from bereaved parents of a stillborn.Patient education and counseling · 2023Article
- Holding a baby after stillbirth: the impact of fetal congenital and structural abnormalities.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2023Article
- The key role of examining the placenta in establishing a probable cause for stillbirth.Placenta · 2022Article
- Comparison of postmortem whole-body contrast-enhanced microfocus computed tomography and high-field magnetic resonance imaging of human fetuses.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2022Article
- Perinatal autopsy in Ghana: Healthcare workers knowledge and attitude.Frontiers in global women's health · 2022Article
- Perceptions of family, community and religious leaders and acceptability for minimal invasive tissue sampling to identify the cause of death in under-five deaths and stillbirths in North India: a qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2021Article
- Understanding the complexities of unexplained stillbirth in sub-Saharan Africa: a mixed-methods study.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2021Article
- Maternity Healthcare Chaplains and Perinatal Post-Mortem Support and Understanding in the United Kingdom and Ireland: An Exploratory Study.Journal of religion and health · 2021Article
- "The communication and support from the health professional is incredibly important": A qualitative study exploring the processes and practices that support parental decision-making about postmortem examination.Prenatal diagnosis · 2019Article
- Perceptions of parents and religious leaders regarding minimal invasive tissue sampling to identify the cause of death in stillbirths and neonates: results from a qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2019Article
- Availability of less invasive prenatal, perinatal and paediatric autopsy will improve uptake rates: a mixed-methods study with bereaved parents.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2019Article
- An audit of healthcare professionals' knowledge regarding perinatal autopsy.Irish journal of medical science · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDecades of decline in uptake rates of perinatal autopsies has limited investigation into the causes and risk factors for stillbirth.
aimsThis study aimed to qualitatively explore perinatal autopsy decision-making processes in parents who experienced antepartum and intrapartum stillbirths. MATERIAL AND
methodsA qualitative semi-structured interview format was utilized. The line of questioning centred on how parents came to decide on consenting or declining to have a perinatal autopsy undertaken. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed as the analytic strategy. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 10 parents who either consented or declined autopsy from a large tertiary maternity hospital in Cork Ireland, where there were 30 stillbirths in 2011.
resultsFindings revealed four superordinate themes influencing parents' decision-making which varied with type of stillbirth experienced. Those parents who experienced antepartum stillbirths were more likely to consent; thus, knowing that the child was stillborn prior to delivery rather than on the day of delivery was associated with consent. In fact, these parents had more time for meaning-making; those consenting wanted to rule out self-blame and were fearful about future pregnancies. Parents who declined autopsy wanted to protect their infant from further harm. Interestingly, parents' knowledge and understanding of the autopsy itself were acquired primarily from public discourse.
conclusionParents' decision-making regarding autopsy is profoundly affected by their emotional response to stillbirth; clinicians and other health professionals may play a key role, especially if they can address parental concerns regarding the invasiveness of the autopsy procedure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.