Background

The Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (Stillbirth CRE) has been established to address the tragedy of stillbirth in Australia through a cohesive national program of research and implementation. The Stillbirth CRE is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and functions as a  network made up of individuals and partner organisations sharing a common vision.

Our vision is to reduce the devastating impact of stillbirth for women, families and the wider community through improving care to reduce the number of stillborn babies and to reduce the impact of this loss.

We embrace the core pillars of successful collaboration of equity, transparency, and mutual benefit. We encourage a collaborative approach to research and education to more effectively answer important questions and improve outcomes for women and families. Strong links internationally through the International Stillbirth Alliance serves to ensure a high-quality program which contributes to reducing the global burden of stillbirths.

The Stillbirth CRE brings together parents, parent advocates, healthcare professionals, researchers, professional colleges and policy makers to reduce stillbirths and improve the quality care for women and families after stillbirth. The Stillbirth CRE program focuses on research that translates into improved maternity care and better health outcomes for women and their babies.

We are an Australia-wide initiative, our host institution being Mater Research Institute, within The University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine. Our chief investigators are associated with The University of Queensland, Griffith University, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Burnet Institute, University of Melbourne, and Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

We are grateful to the Mater Foundation for its support of the Stillbirth CRE through funding and infrastructure costs.

We also acknowledge Stillbirth Foundation Australia for its long-standing support of stillbirth research, and partnership in the successful request for funding awarded by the NHMRC. In addition, we acknowledge our partnerships with parent and support organisations, Red Nose, Sands, Still Aware and Bears of Hope.

As the Western Pacific regional office of the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA), the Stillbirth CRE promotes and facilitates partnerships to ensure our work in Australia contributes to the global call to action for stillbirths and newborn health, as outlined in the Every Newborn Action Plan.

The Stillbirth CRE has grown from the work of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ), and we maintain a strong partnership with this bi-national society. We wish to acknowledge PSANZ for its achievements in improving maternity care through policy development and education through the PSANZ Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Alliance (SANDA). These achievements played a major role in the development of the Stillbirth CRE.

The Stillbirth CRE recognises that:

• Stillbirth has enormous economic and psychosocial impacts for women, parents, families, communities, and health systems
• There has been little reduction in stillbirth rates for over 20 years and many are preventable with current knowledge
• The risk of stillbirth is higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, South Asian and African women, as well as women from disadvantaged groups.
• Families whose child is stillborn often receive suboptimal care