BACKGROUND:
Pregnancy and perinatal loss are deeply impactful events, both physically and emotionally. In Flanders, there is a critical gap in structured guidance for healthcare providers to offer psychosocial and interprofessional support after such losses. While the Born in Belgium Professionals (BiB) platform helps identify broader vulnerabilities, it lacks specific tools for perinatal bereavement care.

OBJECTIVES:
This study aims to identify key barriers and needs experienced by community healthcare providers in supporting families after pregnancy and perinatal loss. Insights from this study will guide the development of an integrated, person-centered care pathway.

METHODS:
A three-phase approach was used. First, a multi-source review was conducted, including scientific and grey literature, professional guidelines, and local service directories, to map available support in Flanders. Second, a focus group was organized with healthcare providers, experts, and support organizations to explore real-life experiences, needs, and care gaps. Third, journey mapping was applied to four personas reflecting different types of loss: termination of pregnancy, intrauterine death, birth asphyxia, and early pregnancy loss. These journeys offer insight into care trajectories across settings.

RESULTS:
Initial findings reveal major challenges for community providers: lack of clear guidance, emotional burden, limited collaboration with hospital-based care, and difficulties in accessing psychosocial support. The journey mapping highlights key transition points and unmet needs, serving as a first step in developing a digital care pathway within the BiB platform.

CONCLUSIONS:
This project combines qualitative data and human-centered design to lay the foundation for a structured, person-centered care pathway for perinatal bereavement.

KEY MESSAGE:
A digital care pathway tailored to community practice can enhance accessible, coordinated, and compassionate bereavement care. Poster session 1 (Group A)