This year’s AGM and Members’ Conference will be hosted by the Welsh Network in Cardiff.

Date: 25th September 2010

Venue: Millennium Stadium, Gate 4 Westgate Street, Cardiff CF10 1NS.

If you are not yet a member you can join online via the shop here »

We look forward to hearing from you and to welcoming you to this year’s AGM and Members’ Conference.

Please note the 2010 Ryder Cup is being held nearby at Celtic Manor, Newport the following weekend so we would expect hotels in the Cardiff area to fill quickly.

The 2009 Annual General Meeting and Members’ Conference was on Saturday 3rd October 2009 at The Spa Hotel, Mount Ephraim, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8XJ.

The focus of the day was our research and prevention programme. Janet Scott, Charlotte Bevan and Chris Wildsmith spoke about the work they have done throughout the year to try to highlight the issue of baby death as a national health priority, through networking with scientists and clinicians, gathering literature about this little researched issue and talking to policy makers at both national and local levels.

Janet Scott and Charlotte Bevan are authors of the Saving Babies’ Lives Report 2009 which was launched at the House of Commons in March, at the Welsh Senedd in June and at the Scottish Parliament in November this year. The report highlights the hidden tragedy of 17 babies dying every day in the UK, and insists more could be done with greater resourcing, better training and more funding for research.

Since his son Elliot died, Chris Wildsmith has worked tirelessly with his local Primary Care Trust in Milton Keynes to highlight gaps in care and awareness of how common stillbirth is.

In the afternoon sessions, Dr Alex Heazell, Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics at Manchester University outlined the research he has undertaken this year. He is investigating possible causes of stillbirth by studying the function of the placenta; quality of care among health professionals whose job it is to seek consent for post mortem after a death; and prevention through screening women who present with decreased fetal movements during their pregnancies. In 65% of ‘unexplained stillbirths’ a baby’s movements slow down or change in the hours or days before the baby dies, but why this is, and what to do about it is little understood.

We are offering a £150,000 funding grant over three years for research into the causes of/and prevention of stillbirth. Project applications for this grant are currently being assessed through a peer review process run by the Wellbeing of Women (WoW), a charity partnered with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), which helps allocate around £1million a year to research, related solely to women’s health issues.  Director of WoW Liz Campbell explained the work of the charity to members at the AGM,. She described how thorough the peer review process is, so that we can be guaranteed to be spending our money wisely and efficiently, with results that will make a difference in years to come.

The day finished with a visit to the Babies and Children’s Memorial Garden at the nearby Tunbridge Wells Crematorium. Opened by Gloria Hunniford in July 2006, the garden provides local families with a sanctuary of peace to visit and remember their child.

Enclosed by a circular stone wall it was the perfect place to hear Trustee Andrew Scott sing the song he wrote in memory of his son Robert, Sweet Little Child of Mine. The wall’s inscription of: ‘The mention of my child’s name may bring tears to my eyes but it never fails to bring music to my ears. If you really are my friend let me hear the beautiful music of their name. It soothes my broken heart and sings to my soul.’ provided the perfect backdrop. Delegates were able to attach their memory cards to a red Japanese Maple tree situated just behind the beautiful bronze sculpture at the centre of the garden. The day was brought to a close when retiring Chair Jeanne Nicholls planted a pink rose at the entrance to the garden.

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Final Accounts 31 March 2009 »