The Mater Mothers Perinatal Loss Service is available Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 4pm. The team provides care to women experiencing a pregnancy journey encompassing the following criteria;
- Over K12 admitted to the ward with IUFD or impending birth (e.g. due to chorioamnionitis etc.)
- All registerable IUFD’s (K20 onwards, or any baby born over 400 grams, or any baby born with signs of life at any gestation and subsequently dies)
- Parents navigating potential palliative care models and complex decision making during the antenatal period (MFM appointments etc.).
What happens when I refer?
- Patients are offered pre-admission phone calls to support their expectations of “what comes next…”
- Grief and loss support through face-to-face counselling and patient care planning supporting complex needs and safety netting for discharge
- Support and planning for cultural/religious/spiritual needs of patient and extended family
- After death care for baby/babies, discharge planning and support for funeral planning, clinical investigations, and registration of birth/death etc.
- Memory creation and ongoing recommendations for rituals/tangible links to their loss
- Resources for discharge and ongoing support in the community
- Outpatient telehealth counselling
- Perinatal loss follow up appointments (able to support VMO appts if preferred, if NCCU inpatient – our team will make efforts to combine the follow up appt to mitigate stress on the family)
When to refer?
Our team prioritises proactive care by advocating for early referrals, both when planning for admission and in response to unexpected outcomes during pregnancy. We extend our support through pre-admission phone calls, tailoring our approach to meet individual expectations and personalise the hospital inpatient stay. We can accept referrals at any stage through the antenatal period if they consent, even if they are not ready to engage yet.
How to refer?
Please call;
- Team mobile - 0414 828 742
- Office phone - (07) 3163 6621
- Perinatal Loss Clinical Midwifery Consultant – 0403 687 703
You are also welcome to email a clinical handover to the following email; mmh.bereavement.support@mater.org.au
Cost
There is no out of pocket expenses to you for accessing the service.
Perinatal Mortality Meeting (Data Classification meetings)
In alignment with PSANZ guidelines we host weekly meetings to classify and review all perinatal registerable deaths that occur at the MMH. If your patient has sadly experienced a registerable death of their baby, then you will be invited to the classification meeting to review the case. Email correspondence will be sent to you once the case is in the planning stages of the review to ensure you are able to attend if you wish.