Background

Parents who suddenly lose their child, needs to be treated professionally when encountering the health care system. In order to do so, it is important that the nursing staff have knowledge and could meet the parents where they are. To get knowledge it is beneficial to ask the parents over their experiences.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to explore parents' experience of the treatment received at the sudden loss of their child.

Method:

The chosen method was a qualitative analysis of autobiographies, based on Dahlborg-Lyckhages method of analyzing narratives. Present study is based on five autobiographies.

Result:

The result revealed three themes; the first the death announcement, including how the parents were told that their child has died.

The second theme involved the meeting with health professionals, including both positive and negative meetings. The third theme involved being in community with others, the needs of meeting others parents with the same experience.

Conclusion:

As a caregiver it is very important to keep in mind that all people are individuals. The caregiver must be professional, show understanding and dare to show support. This study shows that the care of the parents when they experience their child’s sudden death needs to be further elucidated and it also needs more empirical research on how parents experienced the meetings with health care professional