From compassion to action: perinatal palliative care at the Bonifratres Medical Centre (2014-2023) - part one.

OBJECTIVES

In recent years, advances in prenatal diagnostics have enabled the identification of congenital abnormalities, including genetically determined disorders, at an early stage of fetal development. Diagnosing a lethal fetal anomaly affects the entire family and is often a traumatic experience for the parents. Perinatal palliative care provided by perinatal hospice is a model of specialized care for families following the prenatal diagnosis of a lethal fetal condition.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

After ten years of operation, we analyzed the perinatal palliative care protocol implemented in the Hospital of the Brothers Hospitallers in Katowice, a part of Bonifratres Medical Centre.

RESULTS

We aimed to present the model of perinatal and postnatal care developed at the hospital for families receiving such support in the Silesian agglomeration.

CONCLUSIONS

We also wanted to show the importance of perinatal palliative care provided by one team from the prenatal period through delivery until the child's death or until the pediatric hospice provides the care of the child.