An evaluation of a teaching strategy: The use of literature when teaching pre-registration midwifery students on pregnancy and loss

•Facilitating emotional intelligence and insight in midwifery students through the use of poetry•The poet’s ability to capture the emotions and convey it in such a way that the reader can become engaged with the characters and their pain•Vicarious experience was gained by students through reading the poetry•Assisted with nurturing sensitivity and professional insight into the impact of still birth on bereaved parents•Findings support the suggestion that use of poetry has enhanced emotional intelligence

SummaryFacilitating emotional intelligence and insight in midwifery can be challenging, and the purpose of this paper is to illustrate how this can be nurtured through the use of poetry, in particular Seamus Heaney's poem Elegy for a Still Born Child. Students' ability to gain insight into the experience of bereaved parents and achieve an emotional grasp of the situation through vicarious experience were evaluated.Qualitative data from evaluations was content analysed and significant themes emerged. Students' comments clearly support the suggestion that use of this poem has enhanced emotional intelligence. The data also indicates that vicarious experience gained through reading this poem has helped to nurture sensitivity and professional insight into the impact of still birth on a father.