Safety and Quality in Health Care TV – Clinical Care Standards

The Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard helps support stillbirth prevention and bereavement care after perinatal loss.
Stillbirth is a tragic and profound experience that affects more than 2,000 families in Australia every year.
Despite being the most common form of perinatal death, the experience of stillbirth is often hidden due to stigma, taboo and a culture of silence.
The rate of late-gestation stillbirths (after 28 weeks of pregnancy) in Australia is almost 50% higher than in countries with the lowest rates worldwide.
Strategies can improve the chance of a woman giving birth to a healthy live-born baby.

The Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard was launched on 4 November 2022 at the Annual National Stillbirth Forum

Your Host

Expert speakers

Associate Professor Liz Marles

Clinical Director, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
and General Practitioner, Hornsby-Brooklyn GP Unit

At the Commission, Liz provides strategic leadership on work related to primary and community health care. As Chair of the Topic Working Group, she guided the development of the Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard. Liz is passionate about providing patient-centred care and as a GP, has a special interest in chronic disease management, mental health and Aboriginal health, and a strong focus on holistic and preventive care.

Professor Adrienne Gordon

Neonatologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Clinical Professor at University of Sydney, and Chief Investigator at the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth

A Neonatal Staff Specialist in RPA Newborn Care, Adrienne has a particular interest in perinatal topics with the potential to improve pregnancy and newborn outcomes. She is a key member of the Safer Baby Bundle initiative and Board member of the International Stillbirth Alliance. Adrienne is Deputy Chair of the Red Nose National Scientific Advisory Group and chairs the Perinatal Mortality Review Committee for the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission.

Professor Caroline Homer AO

Co-Program Director Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Burnet Institute and President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand

Caroline is a leading midwifery researcher and is internationally renowned in maternal and newborn healthcare. As well as her roles at the Burnet Institute and Perinatal Society, she is Emeritus Professor of Midwifery in the Faculty of Health at the University of Technology Sydney. Caroline has led research and development in midwifery education, practice and models of care for 25+ years and has a particular interest in stillbirth prevention and care.

Professor David Ellwood

Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Griffith University, Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Gold Coast University Hospital, and Co-Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth

David is a respected obstetrician and gynaecologist, as well as a senior clinician researcher with over 200 publications and multiple research grants. His research interests span a range of adverse outcomes of pregnancy, with a particular focus on maternal and perinatal death. David is Co-Director of the Stillbirth CRE and has co-authored many articles on this topic. He is also one of the key architects of the Safer Baby Bundle.

Ms Deanna Stuart-Butler

Senior Advisor, Indigenous Research and Chair of the National Stillbirth Indigenous Advisory Group at the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth

Deanna is an Arabana woman from the Lake Eyre Region of South Australia. As well as her roles with the Stillbirth CRE, Deanna is an Honorary Fellow with the University of Queensland. She is passionate about improving maternity health outcomes for Aboriginal women, babies, families and communities and has helped to implement culturally respectful, innovative maternity service models.