ABSTRACT
Every state in the United States has established laws that allow an unharmed newborn to be relinquished to personnel in a safe haven, such as hospital emergency departments, without legal penalty to the parents. These Safe Haven, Baby Moses, or Safe Surrender laws are in place so that mothers in crisis can safely and legally relinquish their babies at a designated location where they can be protected and given medical care until a permanent home can be found. It is important for health care professionals to know about and understand their state's law and how to respond should an infant be surrendered at their facility. No articles were found in the peer-reviewed literature that describe a method to evaluate nurse competency during infant relinquishment at a Safe Haven location. This article will describe commonalities and differences among these Safe Haven Laws, responsibilities of the hospital and staff receiving a relinquished infant, and 1 hospital's experience when running an infant relinquishment drill in their emergency department.
Subject(s)
Child, Abandoned , Emergency Service, Hospital , Child, Abandoned/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Organizational Policy , Patient Care Team , United StatesABSTRACT
Providing compassionate bereavement care for families experiencing perinatal loss is a standard of care in most healthcare organizations. In this article, we describe the development of The Alliance of Perinatal Bereavement Support Facilitators, begun over 25 years ago in Chicago by staff who identified the need to reach out to colleagues at other area institutions for advice and support in this work. This collaboration created a regional support network that has resulted in a long-lasting, active, sustainable organization of excellence focused on enhancing practice, education, and perinatal bereavement care. Alliance activities center around four main areas: education, networking/support, policy, and recognizing outstanding service to families. By continuing to draw upon the collective talent, wisdom, and expertise of its members, The Alliance still serves grieving families and provides mentoring for future interdisciplinary team members engaged in this work. The path taken to build this organization can be used by professionals in other specialties who are looking to create their own alliance infrastructure based on mutual benefit and interest.
