This research explores how design can help strengthen compassionate care following the loss of a baby.

Bringing together bereaved parents, healthcare professionals, charities and community groups, the study examines the policies, services, cooling products and care-related rituals that shape experiences of perinatal bereavement care in Ireland.

Using a design-led and collaborative approach, the research maps how these different parts of the care system connect, where challenges and opportunities exist, and how lived experience can inform meaningful improvement.

The insights developed through the research will contribute to the co-design of an improved cooling product system, while also generating wider learning for the design and delivery of compassionate bereavement care.

The work is collaborative, ethically sensitive and grounded in lived experience.

Alan Grincell / PhD Researcher
National College Of Art & Design / School of Design
Supervisory Team / Dr. Emma Creighton & Mr. Enda O’Dowd