Last Friday, the Hospital Clínic Barcelona hosted the presentation of the first Perinatal Bereavement Support Manual for professionals. Gemma Martínez, director of nursing at the Hospital Clínic, welcomed the audience, highlighted the importance “of a quality document”, and praised the hard work carried out by the professionals “who coordinated with one another to make it possible".
This manual is a document for health professionals who may be faced with painful experiences, such as having to inform parents of the death of their unborn baby or give a life-limiting fetal diagnosis. These situations have a great impact on families, and also on those responsible for their health. The manual offers suggestions on how to deliver such painful news, and also advice on how to treat the pregnant woman and her family and provide them with emotional support. Moreover, it gives detailed information on the procedures and steps that professionals and families have to carry out, and the community resources available to help people deal with bereavement.
The presentation was attended by the authors of the manual, which was written by professionals from the hospital Clínic Barcelona, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, the Hospital del Mar and the ASSIR (Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare programme) from the Barcelona Ciutat Primary Care Area.
Ester Valls, coordinator of social work at the Hospital Clínic and coordinator of the manual, insisted on “the need to make the disenfranchised grief visible that is felt by many mothers and partners, and to provide professionals with tools to guarantee quality care”.
