About the Declaration

The Declaration on Perinatal Care is a global statement of medical practitioners who affirm that the term, “incompatible with life”, is not a medical diagnosis and should not be used to describe an unborn baby who has received a diagnosis which means they may not live for very long after birth.

The Declaration calls for an end to the use of this medically meaningless term which can cause great upset to the parents of children who are a given life-limiting diagnosis but who very often live for minutes, days, hours even weeks after birth and bring much joy to their families.

Nobody can say with absolute certainty how long a baby who is diagnosed with a chromosomal or neural defect will live, and this renders the term “incompatible with life” useless and insensitive. Parents who are told their baby may not live for very long should be offered the full comfort and support of Perinatal Hospice services, before and after birth to help them through this difficult time.

 

 

 

Who We Are

We are a group of medical practitioners who are calling for an end to the term “incompatible with life” because it is incorrect, insensitive and medically meaningless.