Conference 2005
STILLBIRTHS : CAUSES AND STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION
Conference 2005 |
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One of SANDS aims is to ‘ Promote research into late miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death, its causes and effects'. Our national conference in June 2005 focussed attention on what can be done to bring down the numbers of stillbirths in the UK. We co-hosted the day with the Perinatal Institute. Held in Birmingham, the conference attracted over 200 delegates from throughout the UK , including maternity health professionals and those personally affected by stillbirth.
The conference was opened by Neal Long, SANDS Director, and began with a moving speech by Steve Hale, bereaved father of Matthew who was stillborn. Steve was disarmingly open about his feelings in the time following Mathew's death, and the delegates responded warmly to his honest description of the pain of loss. Jason Gardosi, Director of the Perinatal Institute then opened the ‘research' section of the conference. He highlighted the need for better data about the causes of stillbirths – the current system which classifies two-thirds of stillbirths as unexplained is obscuring better understanding of what contributed to those deaths. Using their alternative ReCoDe classification system, which takes account of relevant conditions at death, the Institute have shown that a significant number of ‘unexplained' stillbirths are preceded by growth failure in the baby. Better antenatal detection of growth problems, and referral for appropriate monitoring, could lead to a significant number of these deaths being avoided.
Dr Phil Cox is a perinatal pathologist, based at Birmingham Women's Hospital. He talked about the role of post mortems in improving understanding of the causes of unexplained stillbirths. His work in developing accurate markers of growth has found that growth restriction is a frequent factor in the se deaths. He also described other areas of interest including work on villious immaturity, cord coiling and fetal blood clotting, all of which may play a role in causing stillbirths, however it is too early to draw firm conclusions from this work. Dr Fredrik Frøen from the Norwegian Institute of Health gave a fascinating talk on his work which includes the MOMStudy: an international study which has collected data direct from parents whose own baby died. He emphasised that unexplained stillbirths are not sudden. 50% are preceded by growth restriction; 50% are preceded by a reduction in fetal movement over 24 hours or more. Dr Frøen's FEMINA project has developed a greatly improved understanding of fetal movements and protocols for effective response when reduced movements are reported. Finally we heard from Pat McGeown , Head of Midwifery at the Perinatal Institute, who described the full range of approaches the Institute is developing to improve perinatal outcome in the west midlands. The priorities they have identified include: reducing avoidable loss, in particular through better detection for growth restriction; increasing detection of anomalies; improving maternity care, better record keeping and systematic collection of data. The speakers have kindly agreed to allow their presentations to be posted here. Please click on the names to download the powerpoint presentations. Prof. Jason Gardosi and Pat McGeown, Perinatal Institute The 10 year data analysis from CEMACH is due to be published in the autumn. Please see their website for details. We plan to host more such conferences and study days in 2006, and in 2007 we will host the International Stillbirth Alliance's annual conference, in London.
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