• Sophie Bertaud, Rachel Kirven, Thomas Kirven, Emily Harrop, Amanda Crudgington, and Dominic Wilkinson.
• Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
• Palliat Med. 2024 Sep 27: 26921632412803742692163241280374.

BackgroundPerinatal palliative care can offer compassionate support to families following diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, to enable them to make valued choices and the most of the time that they have with their newborn. However, home birth is usually only offered in low-risk pregnancies.CaseA couple who received an antenatal diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome and who had made a plan to provide palliative care to their baby after birth requested the option of a home birth.Possible Courses Of ActionRecommend birth at hospital or explore the possibility of a home birth with perinatal palliative care support.Formulation Of A PlanMultidisciplinary discussion and collaboration enabled a plan for home birth to be made which anticipated potential complications.OutcomeThe baby was born at home and died on day 5 of life receiving outreach nursing, paediatric and palliative care support and buccal and oral opioids for symptom management. We include reflections from the family on the importance of this experience.LessonsWe provide a list of potential criteria for considering home birth in the setting of perinatal palliative care.ViewFacilitating a home birth in the setting of perinatal palliative care is an option that can be hugely valued by families, but this service may be practically difficult to deliver in many contexts. Further research is needed to understand the preferences of women and families receiving perinatal palliative care.

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