Hazel McHaffie interviewed 108 parents after their baby died in neonatal intensive care following a decision to withdraw treatment. Over two years, 116 babies died in three neonatal units in Eastern Scotland; 81 families were eligible, and 59 families joined the study (73%). They were invited to opt in to the project by their consultant neonatologists. Some families were not asked, and 11 declined. Interviews usually took place in the families’ homes, approximately three and 13 months after their child’s death; 90 parents took part in the second sessions.

This fairly high consent rate to such sensitive research is interesting in several ways. …