Care in subsequent pregnancies

Background

Parents need continued respectful and supportive perinatal loss care from the time a baby dies through to a subsequent pregnancy.^4,7,8 Many parents will become pregnant within 12 months of the death of their baby.^9,10  

Objective

Providing best practice care for parents and families/whānau in pregnancies following stillbirth or neonatal death includes:

• meeting parents’ medical, social, and emotional needs, and providing pathways to specialised care
• parent-centred decision making and care planning, including preconception counselling, pregnancy management, and consideration of timing of birth
• coordinated care across health and community services
• culturally safe and responsive care
• supporting wellbeing of parents, including referral to support.

A note about terminology

This guideline uses parent-centred language that is inclusive of all individuals. Throughout this guideline, we use the term ‘woman’ to refer to the person who is pregnant and gives birth. We acknowledge diverse gender identities and that not all individuals who become pregnant and give birth will identify as a woman. The term ‘parent’ is used to refer to expectant and bereaved mothers, fathers, and partners. However, we also acknowledge that not all individuals who experience perinatal loss consider themselves to be parents. This guideline uses ‘baby’ when referring to stillbirth, neonatal death, or termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, because this is preferred by many bereaved parents and validates the magnitude of the loss experienced. This guideline uses ‘healthcare professional’ to denote all those working with bereaved parents and family/whānau.