The first resource of its kind, this authoritative handbook holistically addresses the multidimensional aspects of perinatal and neonatal palliative care. Written by an interprofessional team of renowned specialists, it is both a text and an evidencebased reference for all members of the palliative care team. This book helps individual team members forge interdisciplinary approaches to care, assess current programs, improve the quality of care, and tailor new models of care.
Encompassing the perspectives of numerous multidisciplinary healthcare providers, the book underscores the unique aspects of perinatal and neonatal palliative care, with a focus on improving quality of life, as well as comfort at the end of life. It describes healthcare for neonates and pregnant mothers, care and support of the family, planning and decision-making, and effective support for grief and bereavement, addressing all palliative and neonatal care settings.
Other chapters focus on the prenatal period after diagnosis of the expected baby's life-threatening condition. These include such topics as care of the mother, delivering devastating news, and advance care planning. Each chapter contains photos, figures, and/or tables and case studies with clinical implications and critical thinking questions. Also included is an extensive listing of relevant palliative care organizations. Paintings and poetry provide an artistic backdrop to the authors' inspiring words.
Key Features:Addresses a growing need for specific provider resources in neonatal palliative care
Covers the clinical and emotional aspects of palliative care for babies and their families
Abundant resources for effective and compassionate family-centered care
Case studies with critical thinking questions
Accompanying video clips of healthcare and family interactions
Supplemental image bank included
Author Biography:
Rana Limbo, PhD, RN, CPLC, FAAN, is the associate director and senior faculty consultant of ResolveThrough Sharing (RTS), Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Charlotte Wool, PhD, RN, FAAN, earned her bachelor of science in nursing from Bloomsburg University and began her career cross training in perinatal and neonatal units. She became a clinical nurse specialist after graduating from the University of Phoenix with a master’s in nursing. In that role she taught undergraduates, wrote and taught curricula for registered nurses in obstetrics and the NICU, developed and managed community perinatal education, and provided care at the bedside. Her diverse roles enabled her to work with parents across the pregnancy trajectory and informed her current program of research in perinatal palliative care.
Dr. Wool earned her PhD in nursing from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2011. She has designed and executed numerous studies that broaden the evidence base in perinatal palliative care, including the creation of two psychometrically sound instruments that have been translated into several languages and are in use internationally. As a leader in perinatal palliative care, Dr. Wool continues to focus on the needs of parents and the clinicians who care for them. She has increased our understanding of what parents who anticipate the loss of their infant want and need.
Dr. Wool actively partners with experts in the field to ensure an interdisciplinary voice in her publications. She has co-authored palliative care position statements for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and the National Perinatal Association. Dr. Wool is a frequent invited speaker for international organizations and maintains her primary interest in excellent outcomes for families.
In recognition of her ongoing contributions to the field, she was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2019.
Brian S. Carter, MD, FAAP, earned his bachelor of science in biology at David Lipscomb College and his medical doctorate from the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine—both with honors. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and his fellowship in neonatal–perinatal medicine at the University of Colorado—he is Board Certified in both. His scholarly interests have long included medical ethics and palliative care. Dr. Carter joined other early pediatric palliative care advocates and helped lead the way toward the integration of palliative care within the NICU and in the prenatal diagnostic clinics. His work has included decision-making in the NICU, incorporating parents into the care of their newborn, post-NICU follow-up, and the interdisciplinary team’s role in neonatal–perinatal palliative care. He continues to practice neonatology, see patients in follow-up, teach, write, and speak. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and co-edited or co-authored three books. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and received honors from the AAP and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
