How do you get over the loss of a child? We take stock of social rights and procedures during this particularly difficult period for couples. In Our Hearts thus publishes the first complete guide on this painful subject.

Every year, 7,000 couples go through the worst of hardships: the loss of a young child. October 15 is World Perinatal Bereavement Awareness Day. or perinatal mortality.

Perinatal grief: what is it?

According to the WHO, perinatal bereavement concerns the death of one fetus during pregnancy from the 20th week of pregnancy (or 22nd week of amenorrhea) and up to 7 days after birth . However, perinatal bereavement also concerns couples who have planned to welcome a newborn. We can therefore also include: fetuses that died in the mother's womb, miscarriages spontaneous, Medical Termination of Pregnancy (IMG), ectopic pregnancies, as well as embryonic reductions.

World Perinatal Bereavement Awareness Day

World Perinatal Bereavement Awareness Day is October 15, 2021. . The opportunity to open discussions on this still taboo and very sensitive topic.

Perinatal bereavement: testimony of a mother

Perinatal grief: how to overcome this trauma?

Whether it's a miscarriage, the loss of a baby in utero or at birth, parents experience trauma every time, and it takes time to recover from this painful ordeal. Couples must above all be united, accompanied and surrounded according to their experience and the situation. Coming home from the maternity ward, without your baby in your arms, to find your child's room already decorated is one of the first situations parents face, and it's heartbreaking! Associations are also listening to parents to support them in these difficult times, such as the 'association Agapa for example. Couples can also be followed psychologically, and be guided for all the administrative procedures. Support groups or parent associations also make it possible to exchange with other couples who have experienced the same situation.

Beyond the psychological support offered by the medical profession, couples affected by perinatal bereavement, or those around them, may feel the need to materialize their pain in another way and may be looking for alternatives to pay tribute. to their child. This is what In our hearts , a key player in supporting loved ones, with in particular Innocence Tribute Tree (we plant a pear tree in memory of our child), or even a bracelet in lithotherapy, in the shape of a tree of life . For example, the Serenity Memory Bracelet is made of Lapis-Lazuli which brings serenity and inner peace. A bracelet to move forward in your mourning.

In our hearts also publishes the first comprehensive guide to prenatal bereavement. How to talk about it? What to do when faced with it? How do you support someone close to you who is going through this ordeal? What administrative steps to take? Who to turn to for conversation and to be understood? In this collection, all subjects are discussed, without taboos, thus offering many keys to acceptance and the grieving process. This work thus meets the needs of memorial recognition of parents and their relatives.

Child born dead: what social rights?

• The birth bonus is paid to the parents (means-tested) when delivery (or termination of pregnancy) occurs from the 6th month of pregnancy (whether the child is born dead or is alive and viable). Before these 6 months of pregnancy, parents can also receive the birth grant for a deceased child, but born alive and viable (having a birth certificate and a death certificate). Depending on the case, you must provide the fund with either a birth certificate or proof of pregnancy.
• A allocation lump sum of an amount between 1006 euros and 2012 euros depending on income, is also paid in the event of the death of a child, from the 20th week of pregnancy.
• Children born dead can be counted to determine the number of shares when filing taxes.

Perinatal bereavement: what about maternity or paternity leave?

►Before 22 WA or 20 weeks of pregnancy: the parents are entitled to sick leave and are covered by health insurance.

►After 22 weeks or if the baby's weight is greater than 500 g: the maternity leave and paternity leave apply as normal, depending on the number of dependent children.

Perinatal bereavement: what steps?

If the child died before the declaration of birth, the civil registrar draws up a birth certificate as well as a death certificate. A medical certificate must be given to him, specifying that the baby was born alive and viable, also mentioning the day and time of his birth and that of his death. The child is then registered in the family record book. 'Warning: in the absence of a medical certificate, the civil registrar draws up an act of a lifeless child', specifies the government.

If the child is stillborn (or born alive but non-viable and died before the declaration of birth), the civil registrar draws up a certificate of a dead child. The medical certificate of delivery, drawn up by the doctor or the midwife, mentions the hour, the day and the place of the delivery. Parents can then name their child who is registered in the family record book. 'However, no surname can be given to him and no parentage can be established,' adds the French administration. Finally, if you are not married and the dead child is your first child, you can request a family record book from the civil registrar who issued the dead child certificate.

Source journaldesfemmes.fr