Your new pregnancy after your baby has died
Planning a new pregnancy can be both an anxious and exciting time. Being pregnant after the death of your baby is a period of mixed emotions. Anxiety and concerns about the pregnancy and well-being of this baby are combined with anticipation and hope as well as the journey of healing in your grief.
Mater Mothers’ Hospital recognises the need for extra support for women and families during a subsequent pregnancy and birth. The Pregnancy After Loss Service provides a dedicated midwifery Pregnancy After Loss Clinic (PALC) that offers supportive and sensitive antenatal care to women and partners, who are pregnant again.
PALC offers the following:
- Qualified sensitive staff, who understand the issues faced in a new pregnancy after the death of a baby.
- Respect for your baby that has died and recognition that being pregnant again will not replace your baby.
- Continuity of care; you will meet with the PALC midwife and the same team of doctors at your appointments, promoting a sense of security and trust. This can be a relief as you will not have to repeat your story to each new member of the team.
- A multi-disciplinary team of health care providers who are available to provide quality midwifery and obstetric support that recognises your individual emotional, physical psychological and spiritual needs.
- Clinical investigations appropriate to your current pregnancy.
- Support from Maternal Fetal Medicine team if necessary.
- Individualised and one-on-one antenatal education, including a personal tour of birth suite, operating theatre, the Pregnancy Assessment Centre (PAC) and postnatal room.
- Loss and grief counselling.
- Preparation for the challenges of taking a newborn home.
- Contact between antenatal appointments via phone calls, email or face to face meetings if required.
Booking into PALC
All women who have experienced a previous stillbirth or neonatal death, after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and are planning to birth at Mater Mothers’ Hospital are welcome to have their antenatal care in this clinic. If you would like to book into the PALC please ask your GP for a referral.
Further information
For further information or to book into PALC contact Mater Mothers’ Hospital’s Bereavement Support Service on 07 3163 6621.
Mater acknowledges consumer consultation in the development of this patient information.
Mater Doc Num: PI-CLN-430157
Last modified 21/7/2022.
Consumers were consulted in the development of this patient information.
Last consumer engagement date: 19/1/2014
For further translated health information, you can visit healthtranslations.vic.gov.au/ supported by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services that offers a range of patient information in multiple languages.