The Specialist Bereavement Midwives provide sensitive holistic care to parents and their families following the death of a baby either during pregnancy or soon after birth.
On-going support is provided for all parents following discharge home and the midwives will liaise with the obstetric team to ensure that any results following the death of a baby are sensitiviely communicated. Parents are also given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss implications for future pregnancies.
We as a team, supported by local charities including Sands and Abigails Footsteps, ensure parents are able to make memories that last a lifetime.
Our team:
Sharon Hurst (Lead Specialist Bereavement Midwife)
Sadie Waller (Specialist Bereavement Midwife)
Contact number: 07399 316 484
Contact email: dgn-tr.dvhmaternitybereavement@nhs.net
Continuity of Care
We at Darent Valley Hospital have also developed a care pathway for women who are subsequently pregnant following the death of a baby.
The ‘Blossom’ care pathway provides continuity of carer and some, often much needed, additional emotional support for women and families.
EDU-Therapy
We are now offering ‘EDU-Therapy- Grief Resolution Program’ to all our bereaved families.
This is an eight-week rolling programme held once a week for 2 hours. The goal of the programme is to ‘help them complete their relationship to the pain, isolation and loneliness caused by significant emotional loss’.
The benefits are two-fold, providing parents with the tools to recover from loss and to meet with others who have had a similar experience.
Sands | Stillbirth and neonatal death charity
Home - Abigail's (abigailsfootsteps.co.uk)
Aching Arms – the charity bringing comfort after baby loss
National Bereavement Care Pathway | National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) (nbcpathway.org.uk)