PBC Memorialization & Legacy Building 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of creating memory boxes for bereaved families following a perinatal loss?
- To fulfill legal documentation requirements
- To provide tangible connections to the baby and support the grieving process (Correct answer)
- To satisfy hospital accreditation standards
- To document the clinical circumstances of the loss
Correct answer: To provide tangible connections to the baby and support the grieving process
Memory boxes provide tangible mementos that help families maintain a lasting connection to their baby and support the natural grieving process over time.
Question 2: Which nonprofit organization trains volunteer photographers to provide healing images of stillborn or deceased infants to bereaved families?
- The March of Dimes Photography Program
- Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) (Correct answer)
- The Resolve Through Sharing Initiative
- The SHARE Bereavement Photography Network
Correct answer: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS)
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) is a nonprofit that trains volunteer photographers to provide respectful, healing images to families experiencing perinatal loss.
Question 3: When is the most appropriate time to introduce memorialization options to a bereaved family in a hospital setting?
- After the family has left the hospital and is stable at home
- Only upon explicit family request, never proactively
- Before or shortly after delivery, while still in the hospital (Correct answer)
- At the six-month grief follow-up appointment
Correct answer: Before or shortly after delivery, while still in the hospital
Offering memorialization options before or shortly after delivery, while the family is in the hospital, ensures opportunities to create irreplaceable mementos are not lost.
Question 4: Which of the following items is most commonly included in a perinatal memory box?
- Legal forms and medical records
- Ink or clay hand and footprints, a lock of hair, and photographs (Correct answer)
- Developmental milestone charts and growth calendars
- Insurance documentation and billing records
Correct answer: Ink or clay hand and footprints, a lock of hair, and photographs
Ink or clay hand and footprints, locks of hair, and photographs are standard tangible mementos that families can cherish as lasting reminders of their baby.
Question 5: When a family initially declines memory-making activities at the time of perinatal loss, the best practice is to:
- Respect their decision and never raise the topic again
- Insist that creating mementos will help them heal
- Create and safely store mementos in case the family changes their mind later (Correct answer)
- Document the refusal and discharge the family immediately
Correct answer: Create and safely store mementos in case the family changes their mind later
Many families who initially decline mementos later regret not having them; creating and safely storing them preserves the option for families to claim them when ready.
Question 6: The 'continuing bonds' theory, as applied to perinatal memorialization, holds that:
- Families must sever emotional ties to the deceased infant in order to heal
- Maintaining an ongoing emotional connection to the deceased supports healthy grieving (Correct answer)
- Continuing bonds refers to ongoing medical follow-up care after perinatal loss
- Legal bonds between families and healthcare providers are maintained after loss
Correct answer: Maintaining an ongoing emotional connection to the deceased supports healthy grieving
The continuing bonds theory, developed by Klass, Silverman, and Nickman, holds that maintaining an emotional connection to the deceased is healthy and normal rather than something to be overcome.
Question 7: Hand and footprint molds, ink impressions, and plaster casts created after a perinatal loss are best described as:
- Medical documentation practices required for clinical records
- Tangible legacy-building activities that preserve the baby's physical presence (Correct answer)
- Occupational therapy interventions for maternal recovery
- Legal identification procedures required by statute
Correct answer: Tangible legacy-building activities that preserve the baby's physical presence
These impression activities create lasting, tactile mementos that form a tangible legacy of the baby's physical presence, which families can hold and treasure.
PBC Memorialization & Legacy Building 1
What is the primary purpose of creating memory boxes for bereaved families following a perinatal loss?