Posted 25 June by Maura O'Malley
NICE has issued a clarification statement on whether
women should be encouraged to see and hold their stillborn baby, after some
organisations raised concerns that its guidelines could be open to misinterpretation.
The recommendation in the full guidelines states: ‘Mothers whose infants are
stillborn or die soon after birth should not be routinely encouraged to see and
hold the dead infant.’
NICE states that ‘this recommendation is not intended to
suggest that women should not be given the choice of seeing and holding their
baby, but rather that they should not be routinely encouraged to take up this
choice if they do not wish to. In line with patient-centred care it is
expected that treatment and care should take into account the woman’s
individual needs and preferences.
‘Sensitive support will be required in offering this choice
or other choices such as seeing or holding the baby with other family members
present. Current evidence suggests that seeing and holding the baby is
not beneficial for everyone and if women do not wish to see or hold their baby
they should not be encouraged to do so.’
NICE has also updated its Understanding NICE guidance
booklet, in line with the statement.
The stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, which
spearheaded the campaign for clarification said it was ‘delighted’ with the
statement.
It says: ‘The statement now makes it absolutely clear that
parents should always be offered a choice about whether or not they want to see
and hold their baby and that choice should be informed.’
It also expressed its thanks to the 4500 people who signed
the petition calling for NICE to clarify its recommendation.
The full statement is available on the NICE website at:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG45
