Perinatal Palliative Care: A qualitative study evaluating the perspectives of pregnancy counselors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A prenatal diagnosis of a life-limiting disease raises complex ethical, emotional, and medical issues. Studies suggest that 40%-85% of parents decide to continue the pregnancy if given the option of Perinatal Palliative Care. However, structured Perinatal Palliative Care programs are missing in many European countries. In Germany, parents have the right to free psychosocial support from pregnancy counseling services after the prenatal diagnosis of a life-limiting disease.

Aim

We aimed to investigate whether German professional pregnancy counselors perceive the need for structured Perinatal Palliative Care and if so, how it should be conceived.

Design

This is a qualitative interview study with purposeful sampling. The interviews were analyzed with the coding

SUBMITTER: Flaig F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6535800 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature