An expanded perinatal bereavement support committee: a community-wide resource

While perinatal health care professionals have discussed individual methods to support bereaved parents after a perinatal death (miscarriages, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths), there needs to be a comprehensive approach to perinatal bereavement support that extends not only to bereaved family members, but to the perinatal staff and the medical and nonmedical community. To facilitate such support, a perinatal hospital bereavement support committee was established. Its functions are described, including the development of hospital bereavement protocols, educational programs for all medical and nonmedical staff, and the establishment of local support groups.