Impact of Patient Suffering on Perinatal Nurses

In Brief Perinatal nurses witness the joy of new life and the devastation of untimely death. The intense stress of obstetric and neonatal complications causes emotional strain on nurses. Repeated exposure to emotional strain without social support may result in secondary traumatic stress and disenfranchised grief. Our guest columnist, Dr. Berry, summarizes the literature and makes recommendations for future research based on existing gaps.