Around the Time of Loss

Guiding conversations between parents and their health care team when a baby dies

When a baby dies, parents often have difficult decisions to make and things to plan. Some topics can be hard to think about or discuss. To help provide information and support to parents at such a difficult time, we have developed a parent facing guide, Guiding conversations with your health care team when your baby dies, to help foster conversations with their health care team before and soon after the loss of a baby. The guide aims to help parents explore options, think about what is most important to them, and support decisions that are best for them and their baby. Topics covered include: preparing for their baby’s birth, honouring their baby, understanding why their baby died, and leaving hospital.

The Parent Guide is available from the Stillbirth Foundation Australia website. The online version is available here.

Where the Parent Guide comes from

Stillbirth Foundation Australia and the Stillbirth CRE worked in partnership to develop the Parent Guide. It is based on the Clinical Practice Guideline for Respectful and Supportive Perinatal Bereavement Care. Developed by the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Stillbirth CRE, this is the most current and comprehensive guideline to assist health care professionals in providing the best possible care for parents when their baby dies or is expected to die.

Guiding conversations with your health care team when your baby dies - the parent version of the Clinical Practice Guideline - was developed in consultation with parents, clinicians, parent support groups and others who share our vision of best care following the death of a baby.

The project was funded by Stillbirth Foundation Australia with design and distribution funded by Sydney2CAMberra. For more information please contact stillbirthcre@mater.uq.edu.au

Infant Autopsy Consent Brochure

This information brochure can be used in conjunction with The Parent Guide, or as a stand-alone resource. The brochure comes with a message of support to parents following the loss of a baby. At a time of intense grief and many emotions, parents might need to think about an autopsy. This is one of the most confronting decisions for parents when their baby dies.

We hope that this brochure provides parents with the information that will help them make the decision that is best for them, their baby and their family.

For more information please click here.