Complete Prevention Program in Perinatal Grief in Primary Healthcare

Faced with the complex issue that is perinatal grief, in 2000 the CSSS de Vaudreuil-Soulanges set up the first complete prevention program in perinatal grief in primary healthcare. The program provides personalized follow-up for individuals, couples and families, as well as a monthly support group “Paroles aux anges…” (Words to the Angels…) intended for grieving parents after a perinatal loss. Supporting families at an annual ceremony “La Fête des anges” (The Celebration of the Angels), sending a card on the first anniversary of the baby’s death, loaning books and videos and providing personalized follow-up during the next pregnancy are also part of the program. Thought out and developed by a perinatal nurse, it largely exceeds the principal objectives set in the beginning, i.e., to break the isolation of grieving parents, provide them with specific documentation, support them through their grieving process and prevent problems of attachment in subsequent pregnancies. For other facilities seeking to adopt a similar program, the program has created a toolbox to support the caregivers involved. Over time, the program has formed a partnership with a funeral home under which the regional hospital’s mother-child unit can arrange to provide free funeral services for parents. Another partnership, this time with the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, was formed this year to launch a mega-project for cultural mediation with grieving parents.