Perspect Biol Med. 2020;63(3):509-511. doi: 10.1353/pbm.2020.0039.
Pope Francis recently spoke about perinatal palliative care and the dilemmas that parents of critically ill babies encounter. In his speech, the Pope beautifully captured what many parents feel. They love their baby even if they know that the baby cannot survive. They need compassionate care of the sort that will allow them to express that love, even if it is only for minutes or hours, and even if the expression of love takes the form of comforting the dying baby rather than intervening medically or surgically to try to prolong life. "Many times," the Pope said, "Those few hours in which a mother can cradle her child in her arms leave an unforgettable trace in her heart." For those who work in perinatal palliative care, this affirmation and endorsement of their efforts by the Church is a welcome offer for an important collaboration. Medicine and religion can work hand in hand, here, to help parents and doctors who struggle to do the right thing when all the choices seem bad.
教皇方济各最近谈到围产期姑息治疗和重症婴儿父母所面临的困境。在演讲中，教皇很好地表达了许多父母的感受。他们爱自己的孩子，即使他们知道孩子无法存活。他们需要充满同情的关怀，让他们能够表达这种爱，即使只有几分钟或几个小时，即使表达爱的方式是安慰垂死的婴儿，而不是通过医疗或手术干预来试图延长生命。“很多时候，”教皇说，“母亲能够将孩子抱在怀中的那几个小时，在她的心中留下了难以磨灭的痕迹。”对于从事围产期姑息治疗的人来说，教会对他们工作的肯定和认可，是为重要合作提供了一个受欢迎的机会。在这里，医学和宗教可以携手合作，帮助那些在所有选择似乎都很糟糕的情况下努力做正确事情的父母和医生。
