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Perinatal Palliative Care Service

The Perinatal Palliative Care Service at Boston Children’s Hospital supports patients and families facing complex fetal diagnoses, including suspected life-limiting conditions diagnosed during pregnancy.

Navigating these diagnoses often requires making deeply personal and difficult decisions, which is why we’re here to support and guide families with compassion and without pressure. We provide team-based care that aligns with your family’s values and prioritizes your baby’s comfort. Our goal is to help you navigate your options, answer your questions, and empower you to make the decisions that are best for your family.

What we offer

At Boston Children’s, perinatal palliative care is a highly coordinated service that’s grounded in open, ongoing communication between families, providers, and support teams to support informed and compassionate decision-making.

Personalized, multidisciplinary care

Our team includes maternal-fetal medicine physicians, neonatologists, pediatric subspecialists, nurses, clinical social workers, and other experts experienced in supporting complex pregnancies. Together, we identify each family’s goals and create birth and end-of-life care plans tailored to their specific needs. This may include palliative care options, hospice care, and legacy or memorial planning.

Emotional and personal support

We know complex decision-making during pregnancy isn’t just clinical. We offer a safe space to talk, process, and find support — including counseling, spiritual care, support groups, literature, and referrals to internal and community resources.

Collaboration with existing care teams

As part of Boston Children’s Fetal Care and Surgery Center, we work closely with obstetricians and delivery teams to support medical decision-making and offer a range of clinical services, including:

If you already have a care plan with your existing care team, we can provide additional clinical guidance and help with referrals to hospitals for delivery if needed.

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Our team

Leadership

  • Kassie Merrill-Olver, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C: Perinatal Palliative Care Psychosocial Director; Social Work Program Manager; Clinical Social Worker III, Fetal Care and Surgery Center
  • Cassandra Duffy, MD, MPH: Perinatal Palliative Care Co-Medical Director, Faculty, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Fetal Care and Surgery Center; Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School
  • Christina Ronai, MD, MSEd: Perinatal Palliative Care Co-Medical Director; Associate Cardiologist, Department of Cardiology; Associate Director of Fetal Cardiology, Fetal Care and Surgery Center; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
  • Monica Wojcik, MD, MPH: Perinatal Palliative Care Neonatology Director; Attending Physician, Divisions of Newborn Medicine and Genetics and Genomics; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
  • Olivia (Beaudouin) Oppel, RN, BSN, CPN, CLC: Clinical Coordinator, Fetal Care and Surgery Center, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery

Nursing

  • Deborah White, BSN, RN, CCRN: Staff Nurse, Fetal Care and Surgery Center
  • Margo Bresnahan, BSN, RN: Staff Nurse, Fetal Care and Surgery Center

Physicians

Neonatology

Maternal Fetal Medicine

  • Mohak Mhatre, MD: Attending Physician, Fetal Care and Surgery Center; Associate Program Director, Perinatal Surgery Fellowship

Social work

Spiritual care

Contact us

To connect with our team or schedule a consultation, please contact us at 617-355-6512.