The IDIVAL Nursing Group analyzes the effects of the intervention in civic centers and primary schools
The Nursing Group of the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) has evaluated the impact of the workshop “Being born, dying, loving, caring”, an intervention delivered by midwives and aimed at children aged 6 to 12, implemented in two different contexts: the family–community setting and Primary Education centers.
The results of both studies show that addressing the perinatal stage —from an ecosystemic perspective— and death —from a bond‑reconstruction and meaning‑making approach— can help children better understand both experiences and foster dialogue within family and educational environments.
Evaluation in the family and community setting
The study “Evaluation of a family–community workshop on birth and death: impact on parental attitudes” aimed to assess a community workshop on birth and death delivered by midwives and directed at children aged 6 to 12 accompanied by one or both parents. Specifically, it analyzed parents’ assessments of the workshop and whether the intervention modified their attitudes toward addressing these processes with children.
This was a non‑experimental evaluative study, using a pre‑ and post‑intervention design complemented by qualitative methodology, carried out in community settings across nine Spanish provinces, with a predominance of Cantabria. A total of 185 mothers and fathers and 218 children participated. Before and after the workshop, 143 parents completed a questionnaire on attitudes toward childhood in bereavement processes, and 54 participants completed it again 15 days later. In addition, a post‑intervention evaluation questionnaire and five focus groups were conducted.
The results show that families’ attitudes evolved in a statistically significant way toward including children in collective bereavement processes. Parents also highlighted the usefulness of the workshop in helping children understand pregnancy, childbirth, family bonds, and death —including gestational death— fostering family dialogue and contributing to breaking taboos.
The conclusions indicate that the workshop could serve as a community health‑promotion tool for addressing birth and death with children and their parents, supporting children’s understanding and coping with both processes and reducing adults’ avoidant attitudes toward childhood and death.
Evaluation in educational centers
The second study, “Learning about life and death: midwives leading perinatal and death education in primary schools”, aimed to describe teachers’ perceptions and students’ attitudes and behaviors regarding a perinatal and death‑education workshop delivered by midwives in Primary Education classrooms.
This descriptive qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted in Cantabria. Thirty teachers and 606 students from nine primary schools participated. Data collection included semi‑structured interviews with teachers and field notes on students’ attitudes and behaviors during the workshop.
Teachers highlighted the natural way in which sensitive topics were addressed, the effectiveness of the workshop in helping children understand and cope with the perinatal stage and the death of loved ones, the suitability of the resources used for the students’ age, and their own lack of training to talk about death. Students, for their part, were attentive and engaged throughout the sessions, including when death was discussed, and it was noted that they were unfamiliar with the role of midwives during pregnancy.
The study’s conclusions suggest that midwives could receive training to deliver this type of workshop, as their professional experience provides a specific perspective for perinatal and death education. Likewise, integrating these contents into the school curriculum may promote emotional resilience and health literacy from an early age.
