Abstract
Introduction: This community hospital in Southeast Texas strives to provide unparalleled care to even the most unique patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), Trisomy 13 affects one in every 6,967 births, and Trisomy 18 affects one in every 3,336 births. A more staggering statistic is that one in 33 births is impacted by some form of birth defect in the United States each year (CDC, 2023). There were minor differences in the historical pattern of caring for patients and babies with special circumstances. After delivery, mothers faced with birth defects and fetal demise were strategically roomed in a quiet area. However, there was no special care plan to meet the mental and emotional needs of a grieving mother. Looking back, we did not do enough to care for these patients!
Methods: This hospital noted an increased volume of babies with birth defects and fetal demise in the past year. Following the literature, we formed an interprofessional team to better meet this unique population's needs. The team included neonatologists, the obstetrician, childbirth center leadership, the neonatal program manager, palliative care (PC) team, and spiritual care team (Bucholtz et al., 2023). The purpose was to meet with expectant parents early in the pregnancy to provide information, discuss treatment options versus comfort measures, introduce hospice and funeral preparations, provide grief resources, answer questions, understand the parents’ wishes, and develop an advanced birth plan (Bertraud et al., 2023; Leuthner et al., 2020).
Results: In spring 2024, the interprofessional team met with expectant parents and a grandmother at 28 weeks gestation to begin drafting a unique birth plan. The expectant parents voiced their wishes for PC and to spend as much time as possible with their baby after delivery. The PC social worker assisted with funeral preparations, support and counseling resources, and Trisomy information between the interprofessional meeting and delivery.
Conclusion: At delivery and throughout the hospital stay, all members of the advanced birth plan, plus respiratory therapy, were on site and prepared to address the precious family's unique needs. Parents and baby were discharged to home with neonatal hospice services (Weaver & Boss, 2022). Interprofessional advanced birth planning is now hardwired and a best practice at our hospital. It can be applied at any women’s services unit to improve care for all special babies!
Notes
References: Bertaud, S., Brightley, G., Crowley, N., Craig, F., & Wilkinson, D. (2023). Specialist perinatal palliative care: A retrospective review of antenatal referrals to a children’s palliative care service over 14 years. BMC Palliative Care, 22(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01302-5
Buchholtz, S., Fangmann, L., Siedentopf, N., Bührer, C., & Garten, L. (2023). Perinatal palliative care: Additional costs of an interprofessional service and outcome of pregnancies in a cohort of 115 referrals. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 26(3), 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2022.0172
“Data & Statistics on Birth Defects.”: (2024, November 19). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/birth-defects/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
Leuthner, S. R., & Acharya, K. (2020). Perinatal counseling following a diagnosis of trisomy 13 or 18: Incorporating the facts, parental values, and maintaining choices. Advances in Neonatal Care, 20(3), 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000000704
Weaver, M. S., & Boss, R. (2022). Upholding the identity of perinatal hospice. Journal of Perinatology, 42(4), 505–506. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-01135-1
Sigma Membership
Alpha Gamma Gamma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Interprofessional Initiatives, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Hospice, Palliative Care, or End-of-Life, Advanced Birth Planning, Unique Populations, Special Needs Infants
Recommended Citation
Heasley, Rebel L. and Dizon, Maripi M., "An Interprofessional Approach to Advanced Birth Planning for Special Babies and Parents" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 167.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/167
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-04
An Interprofessional Approach to Advanced Birth Planning for Special Babies and Parents
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Introduction: This community hospital in Southeast Texas strives to provide unparalleled care to even the most unique patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), Trisomy 13 affects one in every 6,967 births, and Trisomy 18 affects one in every 3,336 births. A more staggering statistic is that one in 33 births is impacted by some form of birth defect in the United States each year (CDC, 2023). There were minor differences in the historical pattern of caring for patients and babies with special circumstances. After delivery, mothers faced with birth defects and fetal demise were strategically roomed in a quiet area. However, there was no special care plan to meet the mental and emotional needs of a grieving mother. Looking back, we did not do enough to care for these patients!
Methods: This hospital noted an increased volume of babies with birth defects and fetal demise in the past year. Following the literature, we formed an interprofessional team to better meet this unique population's needs. The team included neonatologists, the obstetrician, childbirth center leadership, the neonatal program manager, palliative care (PC) team, and spiritual care team (Bucholtz et al., 2023). The purpose was to meet with expectant parents early in the pregnancy to provide information, discuss treatment options versus comfort measures, introduce hospice and funeral preparations, provide grief resources, answer questions, understand the parents’ wishes, and develop an advanced birth plan (Bertraud et al., 2023; Leuthner et al., 2020).
Results: In spring 2024, the interprofessional team met with expectant parents and a grandmother at 28 weeks gestation to begin drafting a unique birth plan. The expectant parents voiced their wishes for PC and to spend as much time as possible with their baby after delivery. The PC social worker assisted with funeral preparations, support and counseling resources, and Trisomy information between the interprofessional meeting and delivery.
Conclusion: At delivery and throughout the hospital stay, all members of the advanced birth plan, plus respiratory therapy, were on site and prepared to address the precious family's unique needs. Parents and baby were discharged to home with neonatal hospice services (Weaver & Boss, 2022). Interprofessional advanced birth planning is now hardwired and a best practice at our hospital. It can be applied at any women’s services unit to improve care for all special babies!
Description
A staggering statistic: one in 33 births is impacted by some form of birth defect in the United States each year. A community hospital developed an interprofessional team to meet the unique needs of this population by meeting expectant parents early in the pregnancy to provide information, discuss treatment options versus comfort measures, introduce hospice and funeral preparations, provide grief resources, answer questions, understand the parents’ wishes, and develop an advanced birth plan.