Affirming Motherhood: Validation and Invalidation in Women’s Perinatal Hospice Narratives

Abstract

Optimal care of perinatal hospice mothers supports the development of maternal identity and contact between mothers and newborns when desired. Professionals who care for perinatal hospice mothers can affirm their motherhood through their behavior and attitudes.

State of the Science on Perinatal Palliative Care

“…In these studies representing 143 pregnancies, 37% to 85% of parents affected with a poor prenatal diagnosis continued their pregnancies. Excepting Leuthner and Jones’ study which did not provide data on timing of fetal/neonatal death, and taking into account Lathrop and VandeVusse's research (, ), 37 deaths (41%) out of 91 occurred in the antepartum period. Some neonates lived minutes to hours with the longest surviving child living 256 days.…”

Exploring Preterm Mothers' Personal Narratives

“…In fact, the process of exploratory depiction of personal experiences like the event of a preterm birth and transition to motherhood are best suited to narrative inquiry. 41 Purposive sampling is another strength of this study. The participants, known to the second author, were mothers of former preterm infants who had been admitted to a single NICU, who had similar gestational ages at birth, diagnoses, morbidity status and lengths of stay.…”

A Descriptive Study Evaluating Perinatal Healthcare Providers' Perspectives of Palliative Programming in 3 Canadian Institutions

“…Attitudes related to palliative care for infants with life-limiting conditions are changing; an increasing number of parents are more open to a palliative care philosophy and want to be more involved with their dying infant. [43][44][45][46] Parents appreciate being offered informed choices and being guided but not directed or controlled in decision making. It enhances the ability to create and implement a cohesive plan with the family.…”