Perinatal palliative care: reflections on an outpatient clinic

Resumo

This study describes the profile of the population assisted by a pediatric and perinatal palliative
care service at an outpatient clinic for pregnant women, at a reference hospital in Curitiba/PR.
This is a retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study is based on the records of patients treated between September 2020 and March 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The service received 130 referrals, with 115 pregnant women having at least one consultation with the pediatric and perinatal palliative care team. The mean age of patients was 30 years (±7.2). Regarding disease classification, most concern uncertain prognosis due to neurological alterations (22%), followed by chromosomal syndromes (18%). In light of this, 15% of pregnant women and their families agreed to limit support and 31% of the babies died. Knowledge of this information allows better targeting actions and, consequently, better support for the family of fetuses with malformations.