2024-07-22 / News
St. Josef Hospital in Vienna delivers comprehensive medical care with a particular emphasis on obstetrics. Our perinatal palliative care (PPC) programme is designed to support families during the challenging period surrounding the birth of a child with life-limiting conditions.
We have formed a dedicated interdisciplinary team comprising gynaecologists, midwives, neonatologists, nurses, psychologists, and chaplains. This team collaborates closely to provide holistic care tailored to the unique needs of each family.
Our support begins well before birth with thorough counselling sessions. We elucidate the diagnosis to the parents and its implications for their child. Many parents feel helpless and frightened in this situation, making our support and the provision of ample time for decision-making crucial. Often, parents face a difficult journey marked by a loss of control and external pressures. Our PPC programme aims to help them experience a self-determined birth and make the time with their child as meaningful as possible.
In preparation, we work closely with the parents and our interdisciplinary team to develop a comprehensive birth plan and a neonatal care plan. These plans consider the parents’ wishes and the child’s medical needs, detailing actions for various scenarios to ensure optimal support and care for both the child and the parents. Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is integral to this process. Whenever possible, the same professionals remain with the family throughout the course of care, fostering a trustful relationship.
During birth, we strive to create a stress-free and dignified environment for the family. For deliveries involving palliative care, we provide a dedicated midwife. This one-on-one support is crucial for intensive and personalised care. The dedicated midwife remains continuously present, offering emotional support, monitoring the birth process, and adapting care to the evolving needs of the family.
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Post-birth, our primary focus shifts to palliative care, which can extend from a few hours to several weeks, depending on the child’s condition. We ensure that all medical needs, including pain relief, are met to provide maximum comfort. Parents receive ongoing emotional support from our psychologists and chaplains, who assist them in coping with their emotions and processing their grief. We also aid families with administrative tasks and coordination with other institutions to ensure access to necessary resources and services. Additionally, we help families create cherished memories through photographs, hand and footprints, or special farewell rituals, which are vital in the grieving process. If the child lives longer, we facilitate seamless integration with external care facilities, including outpatient services, specialised children’s hospices, and other relevant organisations.
After discharge from the hospital, families can opt for outpatient follow-up sessions, if needed. These conversations offer an essential opportunity for continued emotional and psychological support. Conducted by the same psychologists who cared for the families during their hospital stay, these sessions ensure continuity and trust.
The implementation of our PPC programme naturally brought with it challenges, but these were largely related to specific structures of the hospital. Thus, these challenges were very individual, and in the end all initial problems were solved well thanks to an incredibly committed and interdisciplinary team.
Our PPC programme at St. Josef Hospital Vienna offers a comprehensive and compassionate service that transcends traditional medical care. We provide families in challenging life situations with unwavering support and comfort. The holistic and individualised care provided by our specialised team enables affected families to say goodbye and experience the loss of their child with dignity.