“The One Thing You Can Never Take Away”

This article describes one nurse's experience resulting from her interest in the value of giving bereavement photographs to parents who experience a perinatal loss. Three families were interviewed about the meaning of those photographs. The parents described deep feelings of the importance of the photographs, which provided the parents with unquestionable proof of their baby's existence. The information discovered through these interviews provides a basic look at how visual memories of the infant can help in the healing process. Nurses are encouraged to standardize and personalize perinatal loss policies and procedures, to incorporate photography into these policies, and to conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention.