When death precedes birth: experience of a palliative care team on a labor and delivery unit.

BACKGROUND

With increasing recognition and availability of palliative care, interdisciplinary palliative care teams continue to discover novel opportunities to enhance patient-centered care and improve hospital staff satisfaction. As a new palliative care consultation service in a large urban academic tertiary care setting, we found unanticipated palliative care needs on the labor and delivery unit. Women experiencing sudden intrauterine death, and the health care providers who care for them, have unique palliative care needs.

CONCLUSION

In some circumstances an interdisciplinary palliative care team, may help to address acute grief and provide ongoing staff support. Case examples of our palliative care team's experience are instructive.