Perinatal Bereavement Rituals and Practices Among U. S. Cultural Groups

Dr. Denney-Koelsch is a palliative care physician at University of Rochester who cares for families facing serious illnesses across the age spectrum. Her research and scholarship has focused on the care of families with prenatal diagnoses of life-limiting fetal conditions through pregnancy, labor and delivery, birth, and the neonatal period. She is author of 15 peer-reviewed publications, nearly all on this topic. She was also Co-Editor for the book Perinatal Palliative Care: A Clinical Guide, published by Springer in 2020. She co-authored five of the chapters in that book. She is a regular speaker in perinatal palliative care both at national meetings and as invited speaker for other institutions.  She was the recipient of the Hastings Center-Cuniff Dixon Award for Early Career Physicians in 2018 for exemplary end-of-life care and was chosen as an Emerging Leader by the American Academic of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2021.

A Spectrum of Loss:  Introduction to Perinatal Loss and Bereavement.- Foundations and Meaning of Death Rituals.- .European Americans and Perinatal Death Rituals.- American Jewish Beliefs & Practices Surrounding Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death.- African American Culture and Perinatal Loss.- Rituals and Beliefs about Perinatal Loss in Latinos Living in the US.- Native American Perinatal Bereavement Rituals and Beliefs.- Asian American Perinatal Bereavement Rituals.- Muslim American Perinatal Bereavement Rituals.- Unique Experiences of Family Building and Perinatal Loss using Assisted Reproductive Technologies with Heteronormative and LGBTQ+ People.- The Interdisciplinary Health Care Team in the Setting of Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death.- Community Supports for Parents with Perinatal Loss & Bereavement.- How to Plan and Support Families through Rituals and Memory-Making.