The Lactation After Infant Death (AID) Framework: A Guide for Online Health Information Provision About Lactation After Stillbirth and Infant Death

摘要

Most parents who give birth to a stillborn infant, or who give birth then endure the death of their young infant, will encounter the onset of lactation ( ). For breastfeeding parents who experience the death of their older infant, many will have established lactation or frozen stores of expressed human milk ([EHM] ). Despite this, lactation and EHM are rarely discussed with bereaved parents in healthcare settings ( ; ; ). As a result, many bereaved parents who have recently given birth are unprepared when they begin to lactate, and few are aware of the range of suppression, expression, or donation options that may be available to them ( ; ; ). The lack of anticipatory guidance regarding lactation after infant death can be a significant source of distress for parents, exacerbating the emotional pain of their child’s death ( ; ; ). This lack may also inadvertently compound the invisibility and ambiguity of parenthood experienced by many bereaved parents ( ; ; ). Furthermore, parents bereaved as a result of giving birth to a stillborn infant or enduring their infant’s death are likely to experience breast engorgement, pain, and milk leakage ( ) and, in the absence of reliable information, they may follow lactation management methods that prove ineffective or lead to mastitis or abscess. To prevent adverse outcomes, bereaved parents require anticipatory guidance or lactation support from qualified health professionals.