Development of a perinatal bereavement counselling training for midwives: A Delphi methodology study

Background: In many countries, including Turkey, midwives lack formal training in perinatal bereavement care despite their central role in supporting grieving families. Aim: This study was conducted using the Delphi method to determine the content and scope of perinatal bereavement counselling training for midwives. Methods: Thirty-eight experts (midwives, psychologists, nurses, and academics) participated in the first round of the three-stage Delphi study, and 30 experts participated in the second and third rounds. In the first round, expert opinions were collected through open-ended questions; the data were analysed using IRaMuTeQ software, and four main themes were identified. Based on these themes, six module proposals were developed. In the second and third rounds, experts rated the modules and subheadings using a 5-point Likert scale. The consensus criterion was set as median ≥4 and interquartile range (IQR) ≤1. Results: In the first round of analysis, the themes of ‘concepts of bereavement,’ ‘communication strategies,’ ‘perinatal care practices,’ and ‘health worker support’ emerged. The six modules and 40 subheadings created based on these themes were approved by experts in the second and third rounds with a high level of consensus. In the third round, the median value for all modules was 5, and the IQR value was 0 for five modules. Conclusion: This study presents the first Delphi-based perinatal bereavement counselling training content for midwives in Turkey. The training programme includes both parent-focused and caregiver-focused approaches and offers an adaptable and proposes a consensus-based training content that may be adapted to pre-graduation and in-service training; however, implementation in clinical settings was not tested in this study and will require piloting.