Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA)
PLIDA serves as leaders in perinatal and neonatal bereavement care. They do this through education, advocacy and networking for health care providers and parent advocates. They promote the highest quality of consistent evidence based care for all families.
The Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA) has a unique purpose: to provide a formal network and a unified international presence to increase awareness and education focused on the emotional experiences and needs of bereaved families. PLIDA's goal is to be the central place for care giving professionals, parent advocates, members of the media and policy makers to share information on the professional care of families experiencing a perinatal loss. PLIDA also organizes the biennial International Perinatal Bereavement Conference.
Prior to PLIDA’s official establishment in 2002, many advocacy groups and individuals were working in isolation to provide professional care for parents who had experienced a perinatal loss. Each had similar missions and often held their own conferences for members. There was recognition among the group leaders that by working together they could become a unified voice and champion for the provision of professional perinatal bereavement services. Initial organizations included Resolve Through Sharing, Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support, Pen Parents, the Infant Loss Center and the National Association of Perinatal Organizations, along with many others. Many of these organizations continue to be strongly involved in the leadership of PLIDA today.
Mission:
PLIDA’s mission is to promote the highest quality of consistent evidence-based perinatal bereavement care for all families who experience the death of a baby. They express this mission through professional continuing education, the establishment of position statements and practice guidelines, unified responses to issues in the media or legislation, and by creating a network for professionals to share questions, resources, insight, and support.
PLIDA strives to create position statements that promote the highest standard of supportive care for bereaved parents. PLIDA position statements advocate for parents’ emotional needs and the provision of compassionate, relationship-based care. Available to all members, these position statements can be used to increase awareness, educate others, inform policy, sustain supportive programs, or encourage change.
Vision:
PLIDA’s overriding goal is to support those whose work supports bereaved families. They are committed to serving as leaders in perinatal and neonatal bereavement care by offering the most up-to-date resources available to their members
PLIDA serves this mission and accomplishes this vision by:
• Being a professional membership organization for health care practitioners and parent advocates
• Providing opportunities for members to share support, resources, and information on implementing the highest standards of perinatal bereavement care
• Developing and maintaining educational resources for members only, along with a members-only networking space
• Collaborating with allied organizations
• Producing position statements on the emotional aspects of perinatal bereavement care in clinical settings
• Producing practice guidelines that illustrate relationship-based bereavement care
• Maintaining a comprehensive list of resources online
• Sponsoring a biennial international conference
• Promoting the provision of comprehensive care for bereaved families after a loss and throughout the continuum of childbearing