OB is usually a very happy place, and most nurses who choose that specialty do so because of the extreme pleasure in assisting a family through one of life’s most joyous events. However, sometimes the outcome is not joyous at all. Caring for patients and their families undergoing a fetal loss is a challenge for all. Mary Tighe acknowledges this challenge. Mary is a very valuable member of the Perinatal Bereavement Committee. She provides valuable guidance, education and also emotional support to fellow staff members who are caring for patients undergoing a fetal loss. Mary consistently provides exceptionally compassionate care to the patients and their families, going above and beyond their physical needs by assisting them with the grieving process.

I recently witnessed an encounter Mary had with the mother of a patient who was undergoing a loss. Although this was not a family member of one of Mary’s patients, she recognized the woman’s fragile emotional status. Through Mary’s touch and embrace, she was able to convey to the woman that although no one could do anything to erase the pain of the loss, that she was there to help ease the pain anyway that she could.