[Parental mourning after a perinatal loss]

Abstract

The loss of a close friend or relative is always an ordeal. When this loved one is a baby, born or even unborn, a number of specific aspects have been reported by parents and researchers. The specificities of perinatal mourning have been progressively recognized since the 1970s, with increasing literature on this topic. Its complexity should be acknowledged by healthcare professionals who cope with perinatal loss, to allow them to offer adapted familial support. This paper is written by a mother, a founding member of a French nonprofit organization supporting parents in case of a prenatal or postnatal life-limiting disorder (Association SPAMA, soins palliatifs et accompagnement en maternité) with an internet support forum and a neonatologist involved in research with parents after the loss of their baby. It attempts to describe how parents experience this situation and how palliative care provides a source of inspiration to families and helps them give meaning to these situations.