Research Grants

Stillbirth Foundation Australia/NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth Project Grants

The Stillbirth Foundation Australia supports organisations and institutions undertaking research into the cause, prevention and management of stillbirth. Since 2018, Stillbirth Foundation Australia has continued this support in partnership with the Stillbirth CRE, considering applications.

Priority is given to rigorously designed clinical studies that address the priority areas of the Stillbirth CRE.

Successful applications

2024
A grant of approximately $20,000 was awarded to Dr Christine Andrews to support her project to enable bereaved parents to participate in a co-designed, sustainable framework to enhance stillbirth research quality and translation. Co-designing with bereaved parents a sustainable framework to enhance stillbirth research quality and translation.

2023

A grant of approximately $35,000 was awarded to Dr Siobhan Loughnan for Caring for the carers: Supporting the wellbeing of health professionals caring for parents following perinatal loss. Burnout and compassion fatigue among health professionals is not a new problem, but its impact on the healthcare system is an emerging global issue. This project aims to understand the support needs and preferences of health professionals in Australia that provide care to families around perinatal loss, and the development of a new support resource to help increase the availability and accessibility of tailored support options for health professionals.

2022

A grant of approximately $20,000 was awarded to Dr Christine Andrews for Project Engage to support her project to improve the communication between bereaved parents and researchers to partner together in stillbirth research. Improving the capacity of researchers and bereaved parents to co-design and translate research together: “A Guide to Research for Bereaved Parents”

A grant of approximately $50,000 was awarded to Dr Siobhan Loughnan for Caring for parents in a subsequent pregnancy after stillbirth: Availability of services across Australia and a social return on investment analysis. Pregnancy following stillbirth or neonatal death is a daunting prospect for many parents who have previously experienced the death of their baby. Standard antenatal care is unlikely to meet the emotional and medical needs of parents. This project aims to understand the maternity care services available in Australia to parents during a subsequent pregnancy and to hear and listen to parents about what aspects of care are most important to them. This project will also conduct an evaluation of a specialised clinic in Australia using social return on investment analysis (SROI) principles. Rather than simply focusing on cost savings, this social value methodology takes account of the full range of impacts that matter to stakeholders.

2020

The Stillbirth Foundation Australia/Stillbirth CRE grants were awarded to a world-first study into the endometrial environment in women who experience a preterm birth or preterm stillbirth; and a population study of more than 1.5 million Australian women, examining and identifying pregnancies that have a higher risk of ending in an early stillbirth. Both projects will support the development of practical prevention measures aimed at ending preventable stillbirths

2019

Grants were awarded to a clinical trial for a wearable patch to monitor babies’ movements in utero, best-practice bereavement care guidelines for parents and clinicians, and a brand-new study on birth and labour through grief.

2018

The major grant of $120,000 was awarded jointly to the University of Adelaide and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute to reduce stillbirth in migrant and refugee populations. The minor research grant of $40,000 was awarded to Mater Research Institute to develop guidelines for perinatal bereavement care.