New perinatal loss protocol at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron Hospital to support bereaved parents

Vall d'Hebron, one of the Catalan capital's major public hospitals, is now home to an improved perinatal loss protocol that aims to help parents navigate the bereavement process following a stillbirth or the death of a newborn.

"When families lose a pregnancy and are suddenly informed of it, they enter a state of shock in which it is difficult for them to think of what they need," Fatima Camba, a neonatology assistant at the hospital, said in a recent interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Because of this, Vall d'Hebron's new protocol includes personalized care for parents before and after giving birth as well as private rooms for grieving.

Stillbirths are, when possible, delivered in a room further away from the others, and a blue butterfly is placed on the door so the entire medical staff is aware of the loss.

The protocol also encourages parents to make memories and a box of keepsakes such as photographs or footprints that they can take back home with them when their child is gone.

"We listen to families' wishes and desires," Camba said. "This can help them fulfill their expectations for childbirth, to the extent that is possible, and take on the role of parents, even if it is for a short period of time."

Some 1,450 pregnancies end in stillbirth or neonatal death in Spain every year.

This was the case of Mireia Beltran and Andrés Morgenstern, both of whom are pediatricians at Vall d'Hebron and whose son, Aran, was stillborn.

"We wanted to spend time with him because it was the only time we were going to have," Morgenstern recounted. "We were able to hold him, we bathed him, clothed him, and, despite the pain, we were able to enjoy a few hours with our firstborn."

Beltran agrees that doing so was helpful as they mourned the loss of their child, something she believes is still very taboo.

"Aran is our son," she said. "Nobody can pretend otherwise or make him invisible like this did not happen."