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Free Resources for Our Professional Partners
Stillbirth Toolkit for Providers
Stillbirth presents a crisis for a family and their medical care team. Enacted in January 2014, New Jersey’s Autumn Joy Stillbirth Research and Dignity Act established hospital protocols for the care of grieving families. To help health care providers adhere to the law, the New Jersey Maternal and Child Health Consortiums created the Stillbirth Toolkit.
This collection of print-ready materials, articles and other references supports and assists professionals as they counsel families during the immediate postpartum period. A collaborative project of the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium and Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, the Stillbirth Toolkit is available to all obstetrical staff and hospitals in New Jersey.
The toolkit is broken down into two sections. The first section contains educational materials for use with your staff. The second section has materials designed to meet the needs of your patients.
Click on the links in each section to download materials.
Share with Staff
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Communicating with Grieving Families
This document contains the “Do’s and Don’ts” for what to say and do when interacting with families who have experienced a loss.
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These regional, statewide and national resources offer parents assistance in the following areas: burial assistance, genetic counseling, pathology and bereavement support.
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Additional Stillbirth and Perinatal Loss Resource Links
These are additional resources that you may find useful when treating a mother experiencing a loss. Some of these materials require a login to be accessed.
Share with Patients
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Wishes for your Hospital and Birth Stay
This document guides parents as they discuss their wishes and plan for their birth experience with their partner/support person, family and healthcare provider.
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This letter is a guide for parents in the first hours after learning of a baby's death. It advises them when they have questions about why their baby died, what tests can be done and whether they should consent to autopsy.
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Postpartum Care After Stillbirth
This is a tip sheet for outpatient staff as they provide care and support after a stillbirth.
SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICES
Separate from the Stillbirth Toolkit, health care providers treating families experiencing perinatal loss may also find SNJPC's Postpartum Wellness Initiative for South Jersey useful.
PWI offers assistance to healthcare providers treating mothers experiencing postpartum depression through a voluntary web-based screening process. The assessment, triage, referral and telephone support services are available to women who have experienced a live birth or perinatal loss. PWI also offers live professionally-facilitated group support as well as a 24/7 online peer support community in partnership with Smart Patients.