For parents faced with the news that their unborn child will be born with a terminal illness, there is now hope. Perinatal Hospice helps families cherish the short time they have with their child.
According to Choices Medical Clinic, which provides compassionate care for unplanned pregnancies, Perinatal Hospice “allows for a continuum of supportive care from the time of diagnosis of lethal anomaly until the natural death of the infant.”
Parents can save locks of hair, involve their entire families, create a scrapbook, and hold and comfort their baby for the few hours or days he or she survives. One set of parents said that “It was worth every bit of heartache. He gave so much back to us.” Another couple said that they were able to have their son for a “glorious 14 hours.”
Perinatal Hospice is relatively new and not usually given as an option to expectant parents. Parents can be pressured to make a decision quickly to avoid late-term abortion complications. Terminating the pregnancy is usually the option parents choose in a situation like this. In fact, only 20% of parents bring the pregnancy to term. When given the option of Perinatal Hospice, 80% of parents choose life.
Currently there are 27 states that have at least one Perinatal Hospice provider. There are two in Texas. In Houston, you may contact Fetal Intervention Coordinator, Karen Moise, RN, at 713-798-8621 at The Fetal Center at Texas Children's Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. In Odessa, you may contact Jamie Chance, MS, CGC, at the West Texas Maternal Fetal Medicine Center.
Perinatal Hospice is a beautiful alternative to abortion and helps families choose life, however brief it may be.
http://www.choicesmcwichita.org/perinatal-hospice/slide-show/
http://perinatalhospice.org/Home_Page.html
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/04/give-parents-perinatal-hospice-option-instead-of-abortion/