Wanted- tips on bathing stillborns, etc....

[LDRN697]

Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to bathe stillborns. Many of the nurses I work with say there is really no way to bathe them espcially if the skin is already peeling. I just want to make them look the best that I can for the families and pictures. Also if you can share any information about your bereavement program and resources that would be great. I am currently coordinating our bereavement program and I need all the suggestions I can get.

Thanks

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[NurseNora, BSN, RN]

Thanks, I'll look there. The last stillborn I cared for was so small and so macerated that there really wasn't anything to put in the memory box but footprints. For some reason, I asked the parents if they wanted the baby baptized. I don't know why, it just came out of my mouth. But the mother said that yes, she wanted the baby baptized Lutherin. I explained that I could call her minister if she wanted (she didn't), but that I could only do a generic Christian baptism. That was what she wanted for the baby although she wanted me to do it out of her presence. Both grandmothers however chose to be present and seemed to get some comfort from the small ceremony.

Afterwards I remembered that at another hospital, a long time ago when baptisms were more common (the Catholic doctrine at that time was that unbaptized infants couldn't get into Heaven and spent eternity in Purgatory; that was changed in the late 70's or so) the priest would use a sea shell for his baptisms and then give it to the parents as a momento. Anyway, it may be another 30 years before I do another one, but I now have a small bag of shells in my locker just in case. I really wish I'd had something like that for that last mother. The hand &/or foot casts would have been great too. Now I'll have to look for the kits the next time I get down to Phoenix.

[Debbie, RN]

Our hospital uses the bereavement program guidelines from RTS-Resolve thru Sharing also. This program offers some great training and guidelines.

When it comes to bathing a stillborn, esp. those who are a bit macerated and have peeling skin, we bathe them with cotton balls (much gentler) and Baby shampoo so that they smell like "babies" and it can promote a more pleasant bonding experience.

We have a wonderful woman who comes to our hospital and helps our patients who are experiencing a fetal demise birth. She calls herself a "doula" for perinatal loss and she is wonderful with the patients and the babies. We are very blessed to have her. She volunteers her services, day or night. She uses a product from Crayola (the crayon-maker) that is called Model Magic. It is sort of a clay product that is very soft and pliable and she forms it into a little pattie of sorts and presses the fetus's feet into it.

She places the form in a little pressed cardboard box that is decorated pink or blue with ribbons and such and it dries within 24 hours. She gets them from a local craft store. The patient and family are advised not to press on it until it dries. It is such a nice presentation and such a welcomed keepsake memory for the patient who is experiencing the loss. :heartbeat:heartbeat

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

we put a little baby footprint outside the pts room so any staff entering the room knows the mother has lost the baby. I thought this may be a small part of the bereavement program you are starting. I really appreciate this so I do not ask the woman "did you have a boy or a girl"