Australia’s stubborn stillbirth rates starting to budge, forum told

They’ve remained stubbornly unchanged for two decades but last year Australia suddenly recorded a massive decline in stillbirths. Here’s why.

Australia’s stillbirth rates, which have remained stubbornly unchanged for two decades, have taken a dive under a new initiative targeting major risk factors.

That’s the message out of a national virtual forum on the Safer Baby Bundle initiative, which is being implemented across Australia.

Forum organiser Christine Andrews, of Mater Research, said preliminary data out of Victoria, shared with participants, suggested a reduction in stillbirth rates across services participating in the initiative.

Labor Senator Kristina Keneally, whose baby daughter Caroline was stillborn 22 years ago, opened and closed a national forum on the Safer Baby Bundle initiative, which aims to reduce Australian stillbirth rates. Photo: Bianca De Marchi.

She said that between June 2019 and March 2020, data from participating Victorian maternity services showed a 27 per cent drop in stillbirths, equating to 13 babies’ lives saved.

The Safer Baby Bundle initiative aims to reduce late gestation stillbirths – those that occur post 28 weeks.

It includes five key elements – supporting pregnant women to quit smoking; improving detection and management of fetal growth restriction; raising awareness and improving care for women with decreased fetal movements; making women aware of the importance of sleeping on their side after 28 weeks’ gestation; and improving shared decision-making about the timing of birth for women with stillbirth risk factors.

“We are very encouraged to see the early results (from Victoria),” Dr Andrews said.

“We believe other jurisdictions across the country will also report improvements in their stillbirth rates as they progress with the implementation of the Safer Baby Bundle.”

The initiative was launched in Queensland late last year.

More than 2000 Australian babies are lost to stillbirth every year.

Stillbirth rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are double those experienced by other Australian women.

Labor Senator Kristina Keneally, whose baby daughter Caroline was stillborn 22 years ago, opened and closed the forum.