In Today’s Issue:

🔗 The best resources I found this week
📖 Deep dive: How New Research Is Expanding Swanson’s Caring Model

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🔗 The Best Resources I Found This Week

🌟 Holistic Nursing Care for Perinatal Loss Based on Swanson's Theory of Caring
Berry & Lazcano’s 2025 study expands Swanson’s theory through a holistic lens to include physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural needs for families facing perinatal loss.
PubMed - MCN Am J Matern Child Nurse

📘 Role-play Perinatal Bereavement Simulation in Nursing Education Published studies describe how incorporating simulation and role-play within nurse training programs builds competence and confidence for supporting families through loss. My American Nurse - Perinatal Bereavement

📖 Deep Dive

How New Research Is Expanding Swanson’s Caring Model

Let’s dive in. Today, we’re unpacking Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring published in 1991—and putting it side-by-side with Berry & Lazcano’s latest research, which pushes the model even further.​

The Caring Theory, by Kristen Swanson

If you’ve worked in bereavement care, you’ve probably heard these five steps:

• Knowing: Understand without assumptions.

• Being With: Really show up. Not just physically, but emotionally.

• Doing For: Make things easier and safer. Think comfort, dignity, keepsakes.

• Enabling: Don’t take over—help parents walk their own path.

• Maintaining Belief: Remind yourself, these parents will find a way through, even if it takes a while.​

This structure gives nurses a reliable way to respond in those hard, uncertain moments.

Unpacking this Theory in Today’s World

Fast forward to today – Berry & Lazcano’s latest research pushes the model even further: Holistic Nursing Care for Perinatal Loss Based on Swanson's Theory of Caring.

The authors looked at interviews with 34 families who’d experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss.​

Families reported the nurses who did these things were the ones who left a deep impact and were what families remembered most:

• Who were honest

• Who said the baby’s name

• Who facilitated memory-making opportunities

• Being emotionally present and anticipating needs—before parents could even voice them​

Modern Evidence-Based Standards to Build On The Swanson’s Foundation

Swanson’s Theory remains the trusted foundation for bereavement care education. But today’s leading experts are expanding its reach—turning those five caring steps into practical, hospital-ready interventions that address the whole family’s needs: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cultural. This is exactly what top organizations like AWHONN (Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) and recent perinatal care summits endorse as best practice for moving bereavement care forward.

Simulation-Based Training
Simulation training isn’t just a buzzword anymore. It’s a game-changer. At major teaching hospitals, nurses participate in immersive role-play scenarios that build confidence in handling complex conversations, from delivering bad news to supporting parents through decision-making after stillbirth. A 2024 study by Liberty University showed simulation dramatically improved nurse readiness and emotional resilience. One educator noted:

Your Action: Advocate for simulation modules in your hospital’s annual training. Connect with educators or external simulation centers to build a tailored program focused on perinatal loss.

Memorialization and Ritual Guidance
Memory-making is no longer optional—it’s an expectation. Practices like memory boxes, handprints, footprints, and use of cooling units are embedded in updated protocols. Bereavement coordinators are encouraged to develop formal memorial kits and rituals that families can personalize. The evidence is clear: facilitating these moments fosters healing. One nurse coordinator shared,​

Your Action: Work with your hospital’s supply chain and volunteer groups to assemble or refresh bereavement kits. Offer staff training on how to introduce and guide families gently through these rituals.

Trauma-Informed, Team-Based Care
Increasingly, hospitals treat perinatal loss through a trauma-informed lens—recognizing how deep and complex grief can overlap with PTSD and other mental health challenges. New guidelines call for coordinated care teams that include social workers, counselors, chaplains, and peer supporters alongside nursing staff. Integrating these services means families never feel lost or unsupported, even after discharge.​

Your Action: Build or strengthen partnerships across departments. Create clear referral pathways to counseling and peer-support programs. Advocate for staff debrief sessions—supporting your team is key to sustainable, compassionate care.

Culturally Sensitive Care That Honors Every Family
One size does not fit all. New policies emphasize understanding diverse cultural and spiritual traditions around death, mourning, and memory. This requires ongoing cultural humility training and flexible protocols that respect individual family beliefs.​

Your Action: Lead educational sessions with local cultural experts or faith leaders. Collaborate with your hospital’s diversity office to review bereavement policies through an equity lens. Equip staff with resources to ask thoughtful, respectful questions that honor every family’s unique journey.

By embracing these expansions on Swanson’s Theory, bereavement coordinators can turn evidence into real-world transformation. It’s not just about knowing the theory—it’s about delivering care that feels deeply human and thoughtfully supportive, every time. These actionable steps are what your hospital can adopt today to truly elevate bereavement care.

Let’s Summarize What the Latest Evidence is Teaching us About Modern Bereavement Standards

You’re not just following a script.

Swanson’s five steps are your backbone, but Berry & Lazcano’s study—and today’s leading trainings—invite you to:

• Go deeper on rituals and memory-making.

• Trust role-play and simulation for real-world readiness.

• Team up with other staff and lean into trauma-informed strategies.

• Ask questions about every family’s cultural and spiritual needs.

Continuing education is saying: take what’s good, add what’s needed.
That’s how bereavement care is changing—so parents get the dignity, support, and healing they deserve.​

If you want more evidence or protocols, definitely check out Berry & Lazcano’s 2025 paper for a full list of interventions, new training requirements, and holistic approaches.​

👋 That’s a Wrap!

Before you go: Here are ways we can help your hospital

Education: Please share our newsletter with your co-workers. Our priority is empowering nurses with the tools to support patients with modern, evidence-based bereavement education.

Bereavement boxes: Our bereavement boxes were designed out of a need for a modern high quality solution for families suffering from miscarriage, stillborn, or infant death.

Reply to this email “Sample” to get a free sample sent to your hospital.

What we prioritize:

1. Tools for hospitals to create a bereavement experience for families to begin their grief journey

2. Educating nurses with modern bereavement standards and continuing education.

3. Helping hospitals build a foundation of trust and support, so bereaved families feel seen and cared for—now and in the years to come.

These boxes were born out of our own personal losses, including Jay’s (CEO) 15 years of experience working in labor and delivery as a CRNA and witnessing time and again how the hospital experience can profoundly shape a family’s grief journey, for better or for worse.

Until next week,

Trina and Jay
Co-founders of Forget Me Not