During your pregnancy, you may find out that your baby has a life-limiting condition. This may mean that your baby is at risk of dying before delivery, during childbirth or shortly after they are born. This can be a heart-breaking situation for families. It can be challenging to make decisions about your baby’s medical care when you are saddened by their condition. When your baby faces an uncertain future, you want the right care that reduces discomfort and allows you to focus on spending quality time with your baby.
What to Expect
What to Expect
Getting to know you and your family, your needs, hopes, and values ensures that we know what matters most to you when meeting your baby. We can help you make meaningful goals for your baby. Together, we assist with care and medical decisions, providing as much time as you need.
We will communicate your goals with your baby’s care team to provide seamless care from prenatal diagnosis through delivery of your baby and after. We provide grief support and can connect you and your family with mental health resources as needed.
After your baby is born, Riley Children’s Health provides a range of grief and bereavement services to support you and your family with the loss of your baby. Services and information are available free of charge. Our team can also assist you with receiving postpartum and lactation care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an advanced care plan?
An advanced care plan is an outline of your preferences about the delivery and care of your baby and what you hope to have happen. This plan helps guide your baby’s care team. It may include your preferences about monitoring during labor, support people you wish to be present, family or friends you would like to meet your baby, making keepsakes (such as photographs, footprints, lock of hair, ID bands), newborn testing, and care and comfort management.
What if I change my mind about the details of my advanced care plan?
Your advanced care plan is not set in stone. It can be changed by you at any time and without judgment. The plan can be flexible if new circumstances arise or if your wishes change. You can let your baby be your guide.
What support is available after leaving the hospital?
Riley Grief & Bereavement Services provides individualized, family-centered services for parents, siblings, and family members. They can also connect you with mental health services or grief support and resources outside of Indianapolis.
Conditions & Services
Services Offered
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related services.
Locations
Locations
Locations
In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.
Fetal Center at Riley Children's Health
575 Riley Hospital Dr
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Program Forms & Resources
Program Forms & Resources
Below are resources available at Riley Children's, as well as outside websites with brief descriptions of the information that is available.
Resources
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Family Support Services (Riley Children's)
At Riley Children's Health, we offer comfort, education and practical resources for the whole family.
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Grief & Bereavement Services (Riley Children's)
Riley Bereavement Services offers several types of grief support.
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Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy Services (Riley Children's)
Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy Services supports healing and wholeness in patients, families and staff.
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Art Therapy (Riley Children's)
Art therapists provide mental health counseling through creative experiences that promote emotional health and physical healing.
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Music Therapy (Riley Children's)
Riley music therapists are a part of the hospital's care team and work closely with doctors, nurses and other therapists.
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Perinatal Hospice & Palliative Care
Perinatal Hospice & Palliative Care provides resources about perinatal hospice & palliative care.
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Postpartum Support International
The purpose of this organization is to increase awareness about emotional changes that women experience during pregnancy and postpartum.
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The Milk Bank is a non-profit, community-supported entity to improve health outcomes for premature and ill babies.
Related Programs
Related Programs
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related programs.
Related Departments
Related Departments
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related departments.