Perinatal Palliative Care Service: Developing a Comprehensive Care Package for Vulnerable Babies with Life Limiting...

Area of Science:

• Medical Care
• Palliative Care
• Neonatalogy

Background:

• Perinatal Palliative Care (PPC) addresses the comprehensive needs of parents with a life-limiting fetal diagnosis who choose to continue their pregnancy.
• The service aims to provide individually tailored, holistic support across pregnancy, birth, postnatal, and bereavement phases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a specialized Perinatal Palliative Care service.
• To offer tailored holistic care for expectant and new parents facing difficult fetal diagnoses.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary team (Palliative care specialist, Obstetricians, Neonatologists, nurses, social workers) was established.
• Service launched in January 2017 at KK Women's and Children's hospital, Singapore, following stakeholder consultations.
• Advance care plans were developed with parents for antenatally diagnosed conditions, with postnatal referrals also accepted.

Main Results:

• 41 cases were managed between January 2017 and December 2019.
• 63% (26/41) received antenatal referrals and completed advance care plans.
• 24% (10/41) of infants survived and are supported by community palliative teams.

Conclusions:

• The Perinatal Palliative Care service has increased awareness and established a clear workflow.
• Proactive development of advance care plans ensures timely and pertinent care.
• Parental feedback on the service has been consistently positive.