Researchers from the Pregnancy Loss Research Group, comprising staff from INFANTUCC College of Medicine and Health and the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre, will present a range of their work at the 2021 ISA-ISPID Conference which takes place virtually from 11-13 November 2021. 

The twelve presentations – details below – showcase the breadth of research areas within the Group, including perinatal mortality audits/reporting (including parental involvement) and coronial processes, termination of pregnancy, stillbirth prevention (including barriers and facilitators to engaging in antenatal care, substance-free pregnancies and weight management), education programmes for healthcare professionals. They also represent research conducted through a range of funding partners, including Science Foundation Ireland and the Health Research Board, and collaborations with Groups/Centres such as the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre and the Health Behaviour Change Research Group, NUI Galway. 

Speaking about the conference, Professor Keelin O’Donoghue who leads the Pregnancy Loss Research Group, said:  

“The ISA and ISA-ISPID conferences are important annual events for our Group, and which we have actively participated in since 2010. They enable us to communicate our research on an international stage and engage in discussion, shared learning, and knowledge exchange with bereaved parents, support groups, clinicians, researchers and policymakers. This strengthens our efforts, and collaborative activities, in the prevention of stillbirth, in understanding its impact and in improving bereavement care”.  

ISA-ISPID 2021 is hosted by the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA) and the International Society for the study and prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death (ISPID), in conjunction with the Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth and PSANZ. This year’s conference theme is Driving Change: it will address global issues of stillbirth, neonatal death, SIDS, and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) and showcase strategies to address these issues across high, middle and low-income countries. 

The Pregnancy Loss Research Group hosted the annual meeting of the International Stillbirth Alliance in 2017. This commentary, published in Research Involvement and Engagement, describes the collaboration taken by clinicians, researchers and bereaved parents to ensure that the voice of parents could contribute to the research agenda and developments in preventing stillbirth and improving bereavement care. 

Presentation details 

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