PARENTS 2 study: consensus report for parental engagement in the perinatal mortality review process

What is it about?

Following the death of a baby either before, during or after birth, a review of the care the mother and baby received should take place within the hospital by the clinical team. The hospital review should aim to provide bereaved parents with as much information as possible to explain why the baby died. Furthermore the process may help prevent future deaths of other babies by learning from the review and improving care. The PARENTS 1 Study found that parents were unaware of a formal review taking place, however they would support being involved in the review process. Likewise interviews with healthcare professionals found that they were positive about seeking parental input. The aim of this study was develop core recommendations for parental engagement in the review process that takes place within the hospital. As a bereaved parent you should be told by your hospital that a review is going to take place and be offered the opportunity to ask questions or provide information about your care for the review panel to think about during their review. You will not be asked to attend the review meeting yourself. Once the review has happened you should be offered an appointment to see your consultant to discuss its findings. If you consented to a post-mortem those results should have been considered when the review was done, and should also be discussed with you at your consultant appointment. This may be several weeks after your baby died and might involve more than one appointment, as all the information needed to complete the review may not being available until possibly a few months later.

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