Although bereavement programs are a common element of palliative medicine and hospice programs, few maternal-fetal care centers offer universal bereavement outreach services following perinatal loss. In this article, we describe the implementation of a bereavement outreach program at the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The four primary goals identified when developing the bereavement outreach protocol included: (1) centralize communication for patient tracking when a perinatal loss occurs, (2) provide individualized and consistent resource support for grieving patients and families, (3) identify strategic outreach points throughout the first year post-loss, and (4) instate programmatic improvements in response to feedback from patients and their families. Strategies for establishing standardized follow-up protocols and operationalizing methods to address outreach initiatives will be shared, with the primary aim of providing other fetal care centers with a proposed model for perinatal bereavement outreach services.

1.
Center for Disease Control
. (
2015
). Cause of Fetal Death: Data from the Fetal Death Report, 2014 [PDF file]. Website. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_07.pdf. Accessed October 12, 2019.
2.
Center for Disease Control
. (
2018
). Deaths: Final Data for 2016 [PDF file]. Website. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_05.pdf. Accessed October 14, 2019.
3.
Stevenson
M
,
Achille
M
,
Liben
S
,
Proulx
MC
,
Humbert
N
,
Petti
A
, et al.
Understanding how bereaved parents cope with their grief to inform the services provided to them
.
Qual Health Res
.
2017
Apr
;
27
(
5
):
649
64
.
[PubMed]
1049-7323
4.
Aho
AL
,
Astedt-Kurki
P
,
Tarkka
MT
,
Kaunonen
M
.
Development and implementation of a bereavement follow-up intervention for grieving fathers: an action research
.
J Clin Nurs
.
2011
Feb
;
20
(
3-4
):
408
19
.
[PubMed]
0962-1067
5.
Michon
B
,
Balkou
S
,
Hivon
R
,
Cyr
C
.
Death of a child: parental perception of grief intensity - End-of-life and bereavement care
.
Paediatr Child Health
.
2003
Jul
;
8
(
6
):
363
6
.
[PubMed]
1205-7088
6.
Morris
SE
,
Block
SD
.
Adding value to palliative care services: the development of an institutional bereavement program
.
J Palliat Med
.
2015
Nov
;
18
(
11
):
915
22
.
[PubMed]
1096-6218
7.
Matthews
TJ
,
MacDorman
MF
,
Thoma
ME
.
Infant mortality statistics from the 2013 period linked birth/infant death data set
.
Natl Vital Stat Rep
.
2015
Aug
;
64
(
9
):
1
30
.
[PubMed]
1551-8922
8.
Wool
C
,
Repke
JT
,
Woods
AB
.
Parent reported outcomes of quality care and satisfaction in the context of a life-limiting fetal diagnosis
.
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
.
2017
Apr
;
30
(
8
):
894
9
.
[PubMed]
1476-7058
9.
Levick
J
,
Fannon
J
,
Bodemann
J
,
Munch
S
.
NICU bereavement care and follow-up support for families and staff
.
Adv Neonatal Care
.
2017
Dec
;
17
(
6
):
451
60
.
[PubMed]
1536-0903
10.
Kenner
C
,
Press
J
,
Ryan
D
.
Recommendations for palliative and bereavement care in the NICU: a family-centered integrative approach
.
J Perinatol
.
2015
Dec
;
35
(
1
Suppl 1
):
S19
23
.
[PubMed]
0743-8346
11.
Holston
JT
.
Supporting families in neonatal loss: relationship and faith key to comfort
.
J Christ Nurs
.
2015
Jan-Mar
;
32
(
1
):
18
25
.
[PubMed]
0743-2550
12.
Howell
LJ
.
The Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit: a new paradigm for maternal-fetal and neonatal care
.
Semin Pediatr Surg
.
2013
Feb
;
22
(
1
):
3
9
.
[PubMed]
1055-8586
13.
Cole
JC
,
Moldenhauer
JS
,
Jones
TR
,
Shaughnessy
EA
,
Zarrin
HE
,
Coursey
AL
, et al.
A Proposed Model for Perinatal Palliative Care
.
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
.
2017
Nov - Dec
;
46
(
6
):
904
11
.
[PubMed]
0884-2175
14.
Harris
PA
,
Taylor
R
,
Thielke
R
,
Payne
J
,
Gonzalez
N
,
Conde
JG
.
Research electronic data capture (REDCap)—a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support
.
J Biomed Inform
.
2009
Apr
;
42
(
2
):
377
81
.
[PubMed]
1532-0464
15.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
. (
2018
).
Loss Resources.
Website. https://www.chop.edu/resources/loss-resources. Accessed October 16, 2019.
16.
Snaman
JM
,
Kaye
EC
,
Levine
DR
,
Cochran
B
,
Wilcox
R
,
Sparrow
CK
, et al.
Empowering bereaved parents through the development of a comprehensive bereavement program
.
J Pain Symptom Manage
.
2017
Apr
;
53
(
4
):
767
75
.
[PubMed]
0885-3924
17.
Snaman
JM
,
Kaye
EC
,
Torres
C
,
Gibson
D
,
Baker
JK
.
Parental grief following the death of a child from cancer: the ongoing odyssey.
Pediatr Blood Cancer.
2016
(9): 63: 1594--1602.
18.
Bennett
SM
,
Lee
BS
,
Litz
BT
,
Maguen
S
.
The Cope and Impact of Perinatal Loss Current Status and Future Directions
.
Prof Psychol Res Pr
.
2005
;
36
(
2
):
180
7
. 0735-7028
19.
Aho
AL
,
Tarkka
MT
,
Astedt-Kurki
P
,
Kaunonen
M
.
Fathers’ grief after the death of a child
.
Issues Ment Health Nurs
.
2006
Jul
;
27
(
6
):
647
63
.
[PubMed]
0161-2840
20.
Turton
P
,
Hughes
P
,
Evans
CD
,
Fainman
D
.
Incidence, correlates and predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder in the pregnancy after stillbirth
.
Br J Psychiatry
.
2001
Jun
;
178
(
6
):
556
60
.
[PubMed]
0007-1250
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.