Palliative care in perinatology in midwifes eyes — model of dealing with families and children affected by lethal defects

Abstract

Perinatology is the branch of medicine, which refers to the specialized care of pregnant women and their fetuses. It is often called maternal - fetal medicine. Thanks to progress in medicine, by performing prenatal testing, we can detect lethal defects, which often means that unborn child will die very soon. Families who find out that their child has no chances to survive can: do the eugenic abortion, take on palliative care, or persistent therapy. In the article the subject of palliative care is broadly represented and its primary focus on providing support to families which have a problem with lethal defects. The things which palliative care must do is to take care of family and terminally ill child The midwife is the primary person who provide those families assistance and she is also the one who helps them to go through this difficult period.