HÅLLA, FAMNA, SVEPA – textil omsorg vid förlorad graviditet

Abstract

Textiles and death are explored in this research with particular attention to the role of shrouding blankets in medical contexts when children are born dead or lost during pregnancy. Situated in artistic research, the project involves three distinct research strands. First, from a making perspective, hand weaving and industrial production methods allowed for the investigation of different textile materials, sizes, and weave structures, including the ability of the woven cloth to offer qualities such as softness, stability and absorption. Second, from a care perspective, midwives and assistant nurses tested the shrouding blankets in acute situations of loss to better understand the role the blankets’ presence may offer family members, but also the medical community. Finally, the voices of parents who have seen, heard about and used the blankets communicate their first-hand descriptions of loss and grief. The research is informed by my prior experience of weaving palls for funeral rituals. Through this artistic practice, I realised the significance of textiles as a silent, tactile language of grief. Development of the shrouding blankets is based on a multicentre clinical study in Sweden and conducted after my licentiate studies, (2013-16) which confirmed the clear demand for shrouding blankets in maternity and gynaecological care. Conducted in collaboration with Spädbarnsfonden, an organisation whose members have experienced the death of a child at birth or in infancy, the ongoing development of blankets, alongside the creation of two funeral palls for the smallest coffins are further aspects of the current artistic investigation. Ultimately, this research advocates providing midwives and nurses in Swedish maternity and gynaecological care with specially designed shrouding blankets for use after pregnancy loss. Unlike the hospital textiles that are used, washed and then reused in other care contexts, a shrouding blanket is intended solely for swaddling a dead baby or foetus. The blankets developed in this study are offered as a gift for parents to use during the processes of bonding and taking farewell. Among other values, the blankets provide increased dignity in situations of loss and help parents to build tactile memories. The research confirms, also from an historical perspective, that textile actions such as covering and shrouding are central to showing care for the deceased body. Throughout the project, I reflect on what it means to be an artist who weaves in the face of death.