Antenatal palliative care is palliative care which is provided to a family before a baby is born. This usually happens in situations where there is some uncertainty about the baby’s future and a worry that the baby may be seriously ill when they are born or that their life may be shorter than normal.
Antenatal palliative care can enable families to make plans for their baby’s birth and to plan the care that the baby will receive after they are born. It is also a way of ensuring that all the family have the support that they need in place whilst they are dealing with potentially upsetting or confusing information.
Sometimes it can be difficult to predict what will happen during the pregnancy or when the baby is born and so it is necessary to make plans for a number of different possible outcomes.
For some families the time they get to spend with their baby is very short, and extremely precious, and palliative care can help to ensure that families make the most of the time they do have together.
