A Gift of Time - second edition
A Gift of Time:
Continuing Your Pregnancy When Your Baby's Life Is Expected to Be Brief
By Amy Kuebelbeck and Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University Press
Second edition forthcoming in 2023
Now updated and expanded, A Gift of Time is a gentle and comprehensive guide for parents who are (or are considering) continuing their pregnancy knowing that their baby's life will be brief.
When prenatal testing reveals that a baby is expected to die before or shortly after birth, many parents choose to proceed with the pregnancy and embrace the time they are able to have with their baby, before birth as well as afterward. With compassion and support, A Gift of Time walks these parents step-by-step through this challenging and emotional experience — from receiving the diagnosis to coping with the pregnancy and making plans for the baby’s birth and peaceful death.
Based on material from more than 160 parents from across the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, and the U.K., A Gift of Time draws extensively from parent experiences and includes many direct quotes that tell powerful stories of their own. Full of practical suggestions for parents as well as health care professionals, it also features the concept of perinatal hospice & palliative care, which is continuing to grow worldwide.
Since it was first published in 2011, A Gift of Time has been adopted as a resource by many hospitals in the U.S. and around the world, and it has been a valued companion for many parents.The second edition of this gentle guide incorporates new published research and guidelines and includes additional vignettes from parents who have traveled this path more recently.
Caring and thoughtful, A Gift of Time helps parents embrace the extraordinary time they will have with their child.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Amy Kuebelbeck, a journalist with experience at news organizations including the Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, described her own experience of continuing a pregnancy with a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis in the memoir Waiting with Gabriel: A Story of Cherishing a Baby’s Brief Life. She is the founder and editor of perinatalhospice.org and has been invited to speak at numerous medical conferences about the topic.
Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist and expert in the emotional aspects of neonatal medical ethics and perinatal bereavement. She is the author of books including Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby.