Deanna Stuart-Butler is a descendant of the Arabana people of the ‘Pantu Parnda’ (Lake Eyre) Region of South Australia. She leads the Indigenous work of the NHMRC Stillbirth CRE and associated programs such as the Safer Baby Bundle, chairs the Stillbirth Indigenous Advisory Group and is a member of a number of other stillbirth committees to increase awareness and broaden knowledge of Aboriginal culture, priorities, and needs. She shares her knowledge on how to encourage Indigenous women to seek and participate in antenatal care, and how to incorporate Aboriginal culture into health service delivery, associated with connection to land, health and wellbeing, life and sorry business. She is leading and co-leading several MRFF and CRE-funded research projects investigating voices of Indigenous families relating to stillbirth, stillbirth research priorities for Indigenous women and extensive adaptation of Stillbirth CRE masterclasses for Indigenous healthcare personnel. She is a founding member of the Aboriginal Community and Families Research Alliance, a group instigated by SAHMRI Women and Kids to translate community priorities into research and to integrate research and policy. She was the first graduate of the SA Aboriginal Maternal Infant Care qualification in 2010, going on to become the manager of the Aboriginal Family Birthing Program at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide. She is particularly passionate about translating research into operational practices within mainstream maternity models to ensure better health and wellbeing for Indigenous babies, women, and their families.
