NIHR Global Health Research Group on Stillbirth Prevention and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

This research group brings together leading researchers, with expertise in stillbirth prevention and bereavement care to work with colleagues who have long standing experience of working in maternity care in low and middle income countries. The team includes midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians and research methods experts. Our international team, led by Prof Dame Tina Lavender, established the Lugina Africa Midwives Research Network (LAMRN) in 2012 which has already trained 150 midwives in 6 countries in East Africa to deliver high quality research. Conducting research in low and middle income settings is often extremely challenging so combining our previous experience with this strong existing network will enable us to deliver this work successfully.

The group will tackle 3 areas of care:

1.Prevention of stillbirth through improved identification of women with high risk pregnancies. We will explore how mother’s reporting of reduced baby movements during late pregnancy (a low cost method used widely in high income countries to alert clinicians to poor growth) could be adapted for use in low and middle income settings.

2.Better childbirth care by examining factors which influence how women seek and access care, the quality of the care received and specific causes of stillbirth in local healthcare facilities, using new effective tools.

3.Ensuring humane and respectful care for bereaved parents through understanding the experiences of women, partners and health workers after stillbirth.