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If you would like to inquire about scheduling a CareConnections Team consult for your patient, please contact 210-504-8650. 

Bereavement Resources

Our multidisciplinary team specializes in babies who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness. Our goal is to provide support to these babies and their families from the time of diagnosis until the time of death. We build connections that extend from the prenatal setting, labor and delivery and the neonatal intensive care unit to hospice care and the home setting. Our team focuses on the special concerns of neonates and their families as they face a difficult time in their lives. 

An uncertain diagnosis lends itself to many questions about the future. Families may feel alone and unsure how to navigate the months leading up to the day of birth and days or months thereafter. Our team is dedicated to walk beside mothers and families who are choosing to continue a pregnancy even when the outcome is unsure. By meeting the family in the prenatal setting, we can help address the wishes of the family and provide a familiar, consistent face in the hospital at the time of delivery and beyond. 

When a diagnosis of a life-threatening or life-limiting illness is made, we meet with the family in an open and supportive manner to discuss the potential medical issues and types of problems their baby may face. 

Our CareConnections Team will: 

  • Support the family emotionally and spiritually during all phases of illness, from the prenatal setting to the bereavement process. 
    Arrange a meeting with members of the team to help the family establish a birth plan and coordinate any necessary care. The birth plan will cover every aspect of the birth and empower the parent(s) to have control of how the delivery and recovery will proceed. The birth plan will include various topics, such as photography, religious considerations, autopsies and genetic testing. We will answer any questions in a compassionate manner and provide a forum for discussion about different decision paths the family may face. 
  • Prevent and relieve pain in our patients and improve the quality of life. 
  • Arrange a tour of the NICU and labor and delivery. We will also provide all involved teams at the hospital with a copy of the birth plan so everyone is well informed and able to carry out the family’s wishes upon arrival. 
  • Establish a plan if the baby is able to come home and arrange home nursing or hospice. 
  • Provide the family with a handbook of community resources, frequently asked questions and support groups. 

CareConnections is a multidisciplinary team that may include: 

  • The referring OB or MFM physician 
  • Neonatologist 
  • Neonatal nurse practitioner 
  • Neonatal nurse 
  • Social worker 
  • Geneticist and genetic counselor 
  • Child life specialist 
  • Chaplain 
  • Pathologist 
  • Radiologist 
  • Home health and hospice care 
  • Other subspecialists as needed 

The Importance of Palliative Care 

  • Palliative care affirms life and acknowledges dying as a natural part of life. 
  • Palliative care neither hastens nor postpones death.