The first national standard on stillbirth has been released today that will improve pregnancy care for Australians.
On average, there are six babies stillborn every day, and this painful loss affects more than 2,000 Australian families every year.
The new standard, The Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard, aims to reduce the stillbirth rate and the stigma attached to the experience. It has guidance on better care for women before and during pregnancy, and encourages open discussions about investigations after a stillbirth.
The standard also urges wide-ranging support for families after perinatal loss.
“Stillbirth is the most common form of perinatal death in Australia, accounting for 7 in every 1,000 births,” said the clinical lead for the standard, Associate Professor Liz Marles. “Yet for many families, the experience of stillbirth remains hidden because of stigma and a culture of silence.”
Developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, the standard responds to an action in the Australian Government’s National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan and is aligned with the Safer Baby Bundle program, which both aim to reduce rates of late-gestation stillbirth (after 28 weeks).
It’s being launched at the 2022 Annual National Stillbirth Forum in Brisbane and A/Professor Marles said Australia was on a “positive trajectory” to address this public health issue, which is reinforced by the endorsement of 26 peak bodies and healthcare organisations.
Compared to other countries, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Griffith University and Co-Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (Stillbirth CRE), David Ellwood says late-gestation stillbirths in Australia is almost 50 per cent higher than in countries with the lowest rates worldwide, including the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.
Professor Ellwood adds: “While not all stillbirths can be prevented, research shows that in 20 to 30 per cent of cases, the death may have been avoided had high-quality care been provided. v This highlights the value of investigating why stillbirths are happening, then examining the evidence to improve our health response.”
Another advocate for the new standard is Professor Caroline Homer AO, , Co-Program Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Burnet Institute and President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Homer said: “The Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard is critical because for the first time, it provides the benchmark to ensure that Australian women and families get the best care – both to reduce preventable stillbirth and to provide the very best bereavement care.”
“The standard also addresses the importance of supporting parents with practical arrangements related to the death of their baby and ensuring access to follow-up care and support after they leave hospital.”
Also acknowledged in the new standard is the particularly high rates of stillbirth for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and those living in very remote areas– roughly 11 and 12 deaths every 1,000 births.
Ensuring cultural safety and improving equity in care is a motive in the standard.
“We need to recognise that women from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, may be less inclined to seek care from healthcare services that do not provide culturally safe care, which can prevent them from accessing maternity care. The way we provide care must take individual needs into account,” said A/Professor Marles.
Stillbirth is a devastating experience for families and A/Professor Marles sees the Commission’s national standard as a “catalyst for real change to reduce the risk of stillbirth and help ease the grief for bereaved women and families.”