Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence

The Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (Stillbirth CRE) brings together parents, parent advocates, health care professionals, researchers, professional colleges, government departments and policy makers to reduce stillbirths and improve the quality of 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.

The core mission of the Stillbirth CRE is to create strong partnerships for high-quality research and increased public awareness around stillbirth that translates into better care and sustainable outcomes for women and families.

In 2015, four priority research areas were identified to work towards ending preventable stillbirths in Australia. The Stillbirth CRE facilitated national workshops where 17 specific priorities were identified.

The Stillbirth CRE provided submissions to the national stillbirth senate inquiry in 2018. Since the release of the senate inquiry report the Stillbirth CRE has played an integral role in round table discussions with the federal government, consumers and key stakeholders to drive development of the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation plan. The draft of this was release in February, 2020.

In October 2019, the Stillbirth CRE launched the Safer Baby Bundle (SBB) project. This initiative was developed to cut the rate of stillbirth after 28 weeks by 20% over the next three years by improving maternity care across Australia. The SBB provides resources for clinicians, health care workers and women detailing evidence-based interventions to reduce the rates of stillbirth. It is provide by the Stillbirth CRE with ongoing support and education.

The Stillbirth CRE continues to meet with the Federal Government as well as engaging a wide array of stakeholders across government departments, consumer advocate groups, health care agencies, peak bodies, research institutes and support services.

This project is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, Federal and State Departments of Health and the Stillbirth Foundation Australia