Palliative Care - A Framework for Clinical Practice in Perinatal Medicine (2010)

“Palliative care for fetus, neonate or infant with life limiting conditions is an active and total approach to care, from the point of diagnosis or recognition, throughout the child’s life, death and beyond. It embraces physical, emotional, social and spiritiual elements and focuses on the enhancement of quality of life for the [neonatal infant] and support for the family. It includes the management of distressing symptoms [provision of short breaks] and care through death and bereavement.” ACT 2009

Perinatal palliative care is further described here as the holistic management of supportive and end of life care following multidisciplinary agreement on eligibility for a fetus, newborn or infant and their family. It can also include the period of transition from active routine care in to palliative care