Date

7-21-2026

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Andrea M. Burson

Keywords

obstetrician, stillbirth, grief, Scripture, faith, prayer, miscarriage

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

Obstetricians and midwives care for a surprising number of patients experiencing perinatal loss each year, yet they lack formal training in grief support. Lack of training heightens their stress, anxiety, and burnout, especially when chaplain support is unavailable. Miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death profoundly affect families, and healthcare providers share in their pain as they deliver the deceased baby and offer comfort, counseling, and hope. This project’s creator hypothesized that enhancing providers’ knowledge of grief support and biblical Scripture as well as highlighting how God’s grace and love can ease guilt, grief, anxiety, and depression would reduce provider burnout while strengthening their spirituality and reliance on God. Thirteen obstetricians and midwives at HCA hospitals in Tomball and Conroe, Texas, received the Clinician’s Guide to Spiritual Recovery from Fetal Loss handbook for study and implementation. Over twelve weeks, they were encouraged to use the provided lessons and to pray with patients experiencing perinatal loss. To further support mothers, each patient also received The Mother’s Spiritual Guide to Grief handbook to provide additional counseling. Results showed that a motivated group of caring physicians and midwives with strong spiritual backgrounds embraced the opportunity to deepen their understanding of grief and Scripture-based counseling. They also welcomed prayer as a healing aid and reported feeling the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Quantitative measures of religiosity, using the Duke University Religion Index and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, demonstrated improvement across all categories.

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