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Past News & Events
 

An invitation is extended to those wishing to present either an oral (up to 10 mins) or a poster presentation. ABSTRACT FORMAT: Abstracts for oral or poster presentations should be in 11 point, Arial font and fit on a single A4 page with margins of 2cm on all edges, single-spaced and fully justified.

If you would like to attend please complete the attached registration form and forward via fax to (07) 3163 1588 or email to madeleine.elder@mater.org.au  by Friday 20th March 2009

We will be in contact with you once a programme has been finalised. For more information please contact Vicki Flenady (Vicki.flenady@mater.org.au ) or Madeleine Elder (madeleine.elder@mater.org.au).

For more information on PSANZ PMG please visit http://www.psanzpnmsig.org 

For more information on ANZSA please visit www.stillbirthalliance.org/anz
 

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Australia and New Zealand Stillbirth Alliance in collaboration with PSANZ Perinatal Mortality Group presents an education session on:

GETTING PSANZ PERINATAL MORTALITY AUDIT GUIDELINES INTO PRACTICE
 

Date:	Sunday 19th April 2009
Address:	Antenatal Clinics Royal Darwin Hospital Darwin
Registration:	1:30 pm
Cost:	$45

As a supplement to the annual workshop, the ANZSA & PSANZ PMG perinatal mortality education program teaches clinicians, obstetricians, gynaecologists, pathologists, midwives, bereavement specialists and other medical professionals how to incorporate the PSANZ Perinatal Mortality Guidelines into practice. By using the SCORPIO method the guidelines are adapted into six hands-on and dynamic rotating stations. Each station is based on a component of the guidelines: perinatal mortality classification, investigation, autopsy consent, placenta and post mortem examination, baby examination, and perinatal mortality processes and documentation.

Please complete the attached registration form and return to ANZSA and PSANZ PMG Secretariat Maddie Elder at madeleine.elder@mater.org.au  by 5:00 pm Friday March 20th.

Program:

1330 - 1400: Introduction and overview of session and pre-test
14.00- 1600: Teaching stations
                      Station 1: Communication with families regarding autopsy
                      Station 2: Placental and post mortem examination
                      Station 3: Investigation of perinatal deaths
                      Station 4: Examination of babies who die in the perinatal period
                      Station 5: Perinatal Mortality Classifications
                      Station 6: Documentation and legal processes
1600- 1630: Formative Assessment and Debrief/Discussion
 

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Hope in the facts of death [ Download a print version of this article ]
( Courier Mail 19/02/2009 Page: 24 )

Unexplained stillbirth is about 10 times more common than SIDS.
Autopsies may offer vital clues, writes Janelle Miles

THE nursery was ready. Brisbane couple Nicole and Richard Ireland were eagerly awaiting parenthood, their baby a much anticipated first grandchild on both sides.

But 34 weeks into the pregnancy, Mrs Ireland noticed her baby was not moving as much as usual and excitement about the pending birth soon turned to heartbreak when she and her husband were told he had died.

A day later, the son the Irelands named Nicholas was delivered naturally, showing no obvious signs of any problems.

When doctors asked the couple permission for a pathologist to perform an autopsy to investigate why Nicholas had died, they agreed without hesitation. "We didn't even contemplate it. We definitely wanted to know what had happened to make the right decisions for the future," Mrs Ireland says.

It was a decision that almost certainly saved the life of their second child, Isabella, born on
September 22, 2008.

About six weeks after Nicholas's birth in February 2006, the Irelands were told he had died from the rare condition, neonatal haemochromatosis, in which iron builds up in the liver and other organs, usually resulting in death. The condition is normally only discovered during an autopsy and without treatment in pregnancy, subsequent babies have an 80 to 90 per cent risk of also being affected.

One Australian woman had five stillbirths before having a healthy baby in 2006 when treatment to
prevent neonatal haemochromatosis became available.

After Mrs Ireland fell pregnant for a second time, she received weekly intravenous treatments with high-dose immunoglobulin, a blood product, until Isabella's birth to prevent the baby developing the disease that killed her brother. Isabella was only about the 60th baby in the world to be born after their mothers received the treatment.

"Had we not had an autopsy the first time, we wouldn't have had that treatment and things could have been much worse for us," Mrs Ireland, 35, says. "We could have lost a subsequent pregnancy. That's something people should be aware of, I think, that sometimes you can prevent any further pregnancy loss."

About seven in 1000 babies in Queensland are stillborn, defined as those who die in the womb weighing at least 400g or from 20 weeks' gestation. They are issued with birth and death certificates. In 2005, 375 stillbirths were recorded out of a total of 55,281 births and in 2006, 391 babies were stillborn from 56,708 deliveries. By comparison, nine Queensland children died of sudden infant death syndrome in 2006. Stillbirth researcher Vicki Flenady, of Brisbane's Mater
Mothers Research Centre, says studies have found overweight and obese mothers, smokers, women having their first children, mums-to-be aged 35 or older and those still pregnant at 41 weeks' gestation or beyond are at increased risk of having a stillborn baby. Boys are also more at risk of being stillborn than girls.

In some cases, the reason for the stillbirth is clear, but Ms Flenady says the cause of death is unexplained in about one-quarter of stillbirths. In Australia, that makes unexplained stillbirth about 10 times more common than SIDS.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young's recently released report The Health of Queenslanders:
Prevention of Chronic Disease says the state's stillbirth rate has remained constant since 1987.
However, researchers suspect some stillbirths could be prevented, particularly those in late pregnancy, with more knowledge about why they happen.

They cite studies into SIDS which led to the successful public health campaign in the early 1990s warning parents against putting their babies on their stomachs to sleep. University of Queensland
Perinatal Research Centre director Paul Colditz says SIDS cases have been slashed by almost 90 per cent since that campaign.

"If you'd asked me in the '80s: `Would I think that in 15 years we could reduce the SIDS rate by that much?', I probably would have said: `No'," says Professor Colditz, who's based at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. "If you ask me the same question today in relation to stillbirth, I'd sure like to find out."

Although autopsies on still- born babies do not always uncover a cause of death, Ms Flenady says information to help parents understand why their child has died and to inform future pregnancy planning is found in at least a third of cases.

But unlike the Irelands, not all parents of stillborn children agree to an autopsy. Ms Flenady says autopsies are only performed on about 30 per cent of stillborn babies in Queensland.

RBWH pathologist Diane Payton says, in her experience, autopsy rates on stillborns have dropped since she began her training about two decades ago.

In 2001, of the 45 stillbirths recorded at the RBWH, 21 autopsies were performed. Six years later in 2007, the hospital had 88 stillbirths and performed autopsies on 35 babies a reduction of almost 7 per cent.

Kathy and Bisek Brzoskowski declined the opportunity for an autopsy when their son, Aidan, was stillborn at Redland Hospital two days before Christmas, 2005.

But Mrs Brzoskowski, who already had two healthy daughters, Breanna and Francesca, when Aidan was born by Caesarean, says she may have agreed had the issue been handled differently.

"All I could think of, and it's still very clear in my mind, was that they wanted to cut into my baby and I don't think I had even had the chance to hold him at that stage," she says. "We had no idea how much time we had to make the decision. We didn't even have enough sense to ask that question.

"We were in shock. We weren't in a position really to make a good decision and I regret that. It's hard to be rational and think of the bigger picture when you're going through such an emotional time."

Three years on, Mrs Brzoskowski says the opportunity to read some sensitively written material on autopsies done on babies, including information about the benefits, would have helped.

After their loss, the Irelands and Brzoskowskis found help from Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support Queensland.

"I feel really strongly about the work SANDS does," Mrs Ireland says. "Meeting people who've had the same experience is really important."

For help visit www.sandsqld.com and www.sidsandkids.org 
 

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IMPROVING MATERNITY SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA
The Report of The Maternity Services Review 

The Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing is strongly committed to improving maternity services and it understands the importance of having a range of birthing options available. The Government has undertaken a Review of Maternity Services and includes issues relevant to maternity services, including antenatal services, birthing options, postnatal services up to six weeks after birth, and peer and social support for women in the perinatal period. The aims of this review were to:
    • elicit a range of perspectives on maternity services in Australia
    • identify key gaps in current arrangements
    • determine what change is required
    • determine what is needed for change to occur, and to
    • inform the priorities for national action, and the development of the plan.

ANZSA has been consulted as part of the Review consultation process by the Department.

To download the full Maternity Services Review, click here
HTML version of report
 

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2009 ISA Conference

In 2009 the International Stillbirth Alliance will hold its annual conference in South Africa as a satellite meeting to the Priorities in Perinatal Care Annual conference March 10-13 at Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg in Kwazulu Natal. This two-day meeting (8-10th March 2009) will focus on audit and preventions strategies for stillbirth and newborn deaths and providing bereavement care in developing countries.

ANZSA wishes to invite all its members and others interested to this exciting and important event.

For more information please visit the ISA website or the ISA Conference 2009 website.
 

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Joint Perinatal Mortality Audit Data Collection in Australia and New Zealand meeting

The Australian and New Zealand Stillbirth Alliance (ANZSA), the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) Perinatal Mortality Group (PMG) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Perinatal Statistics Unit (NPSU) are presenting a half-day meeting into perinatal mortality data collection. Register here

Date:              Thursday 11th December, 2008
Address:       Gallery One, the John Niland Scientia Building
                        University of New South Wales
                        Kensington, Sydney, NSW
Time:             8:45 am – 1:30 pm

For further information please contact the ANZSA Secretariat at anz@stillbirthalliance.org or phone (07) 3163 3829. We look forward to seeing you there!

Download Meeting Flyer [doc]
Download Programme [doc]
Download Kensington Campus Map [pdf]

Information on accommodation
Information on transport
 

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Trish Wilson and Vicki Flenady won The National Institute of Clinical Studies Evidence into Action Prize 

At the Royal College Nursing Australia Annual Conference 2008, The National Institute of Clinical Studies Evidence into Action Prize was awarded to Trish Wilson and Vicki Flenady for the pater that best demonstrates improving health care by closing an important gap between the available evidence and current clinical practice by Trish Wilson and Vicki Flenady on 25th of September this year.  
 

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Release of the 12th Report of the Perinatal and Infant Mortality Committee of Western Australia

The Perinatal and Infant Mortality Committee of Western Australia (PIMC) is a statutory committee under the Health Act 1911.

The recently released Report describes stillbirths and infant deaths for the years 2002-04 and includes 17 recommendations aimed at reducing future mortality. Areas of particular concern are deaths related to lifestyle factors such as smoking and poor socioeconomic status, high death rates amongst babies of Aboriginal mothers, and an increased risk of perinatal death at term amongst mothers who planned a home birth.

The Report is available on the Department of Health website: www.health.wa.gov.au/publications 

A limited number of hard copies are available on request from Ms Vivien Gee at: (08) 9222 4262 or Vivien.gee@health.wa.gov.au  .
 

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Call for ANZSA Board and Research Committee Members

ANZSA is currently looking for nominations for Board members and the position of Chair, as well as applications for a position on the Research Committee. Election of ANZSA Board members and Chair will take place in April 2009 at ANZSA's first Annual General Meeting (AGM). This meeting is a satellite meeting to the PSANZ 13th Annual Congress held in Darwin on 19-22 April 2009.

The success of ANZSA is testament to the commitment of the Board members and its member organisations. Board members are required to contribute to all Board activities and to also take a lead role in one of the specific activities or functions of the Board or its Subcommittees. ANZSA is particularly interested in appointing members from indigenous communities, parents of a stillborn baby, clinicians (practicing midwives and obstetricians), perinatal pathologists and researchers who are actively involved in stillbirth prevention. According to the ANZSA Constitution, Board members serve for a minimum of a year - with the opportunity for re-election. The Board must consist of no less than five people who possess suitable qualifications and/or experience.

ANZSA undertakes its activities by engaging with member organisations through four subcommittees which have various ongoing activities – the Research Committee, Clinical Practice and Education Committee, Public Awareness and Health Promotion Committee (for further information please see attachment). ANZSA is also establishing an Indigenous Advisory Group.

The Research Committee, chaired by Associate Professor and perinatal pathologist Yee Khong, has been established to facilitate collaboration between obstetricians, obstetricians, neonatologists, pathologists, midwifes and researchers to identify research gaps, undertake high quality research and be a source of information on stillbirth research - among other things.

To make a nomination for the ANZSA Board, please do so by completing and submitting the Board Nomination Form  to the ANZSA Secretariat by the 12th January 2009.  

To make an application to become a member of the ANZSA Research Committee, please do so by completing and submitting the Research Committee Nomination Form to the ANZSA Secretariat by 23rd November 2008. 

Completed forms and a copy of the Curriculum Vitae of the nominee should be returned to the ANZSA Secretariat by email (anz@stillbirthalliance.org) or by fax (+61 7 3163 1588). We look forward to working with you in the future to prevent the incidence of stillbirth.

For more information please contact the   ANZSA secretariat
 

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2010 ISA Annual Conference to be held in Australia

The 2010 ISA conference will be held jointly with the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Deaths (ISPID) in Australia in October 2010. The Conference will focus on Connecting for life in preventing stillbirth and infant death and ensuring optimal bereavement support for families. The themes of the Conference will encompass the problems faced by the diverse populations of the Australasian region. The ISA Conference Committee will announce the “east coast” conference destination and the main conference themes at the Oslo Conference in November. Hosting of the conference will be shared across The Australia and New Zealand Stillbirth Alliance and member organisations: Bonnie Babes Foundation Inc., SANDS Australia and New Zealand, Stillbirth Foundation Australia and SIDS and Kids (SIDS and Kids are also hosting the ISPID component).

ANZSA would greatly appreciate anybody willing to volunteer some of their time to help organise, fundraise for, and coordinate the many events and activities that will be held during this exciting conference. For more information on the conference, please contact Maddie Elder at madeleine.elder@mater.org.au
 

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2009 ANZSA & PSANZ Perinatal Mortality Group Annual Conference Including ANZSA's first AGM.

ANZSA and PSANZ-PMG next Annual Conference is held in Darwin, April 2009. As part of this, ANZSA will be conducting their inaugural Annual General Meeting. This event will be held as a satellite meeting of the PSANZ 13th Annual Congress which is to take place on April 19-22. The date, venue and programme of the ANZSA and PSANZ-PMG conference are yet to be confirmed. More information will be available shortly.

For more information about the Annual Conference and the ANZSA annual general meeting, please contact Maddie Elder (madeleine.elder@mater.org.au)
 

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PSANZ Perinatal Mortality Group & ANZSA Workshop

Getting PSANZ Mortality Audit Guidelines into Practise and Perinatal Mortality Priorities.

Date:              Friday 18 April, 2008
Address:       Watermark Hotel & Spa
                        3032, Surfers Paradise Blvd
                        Surfers Paradise, Queensland 4217
                       
This one day workshop prior to the PSANZ 12^th annual congress will focus on setting priorities for perinatal mortality audit and stillbirth research as well as being an opportunity to pilot a new education program designed to implement the PSANZ guidelines.

Getting Guidelines into Practice

Using the PSANZ guidelines effectively is based on the SCORPIO method of teaching with 6 stations of 25 minutes and a maximum of 6 people per station. The six stations address the key recommendations of the PSANZ guidelines in the following areas: Classification, Investigation, Counselling for autopsy, Perinatal Mortality Audit Multidisciplinary Review, Appropriate documentation and Bereavement support.

This educational program is suitable for midwives, doctors and nurses providing maternity and newborn care and for bereavement counsellors. Participants will be taken through key aspects of the PSANZ guidelines in practical teaching sessions to assist them in the best practice at the time of stillbirth or neonatal death. The sessions will also address bereavement support for women and their families.  For more information please contact Maddie Elder at madeleine.elder@mater.org.au 

[ Download Program Information and Abstracts Booklet ]
[ Download Program Flyer ]
[ Download Registration Form ]

For more details on other satellite meetings please go to the WOMBAT Conferences page and the Impact Meetings & Workshops page.