More could and should be done to reduce the rate of stillbirths in Wales – says National Assembly Committee
27 February 2013
More could and should be done to reduce the rate of stillbirth in Wales, according to a National Assembly for Wales Committee.
The Health and Social Care Committee has concluded that the Welsh Government must do more to raise awareness of the issue of stillbirth amongst both expectant parents and medical professionals.
During its inquiry, the Committee was told that stillbirth is still the most common form of child mortality in Wales with approximately four babies dying every week.
Assembly Members also learned that, while neonatal and infant mortality rates have improved significantly over the last decade, stillbirth rates have barely changed since the early 1990s.
The Committee determined that there was not one single remedy to end the problem, and that the Welsh Government needed to concentrate more on the relatively small steps that can be taken in areas including medical research and public information to help those planning to start a family make informed choices.
It recommends that, in the absence of large-scale funding from charities and interested industry sectors, the Welsh Government make innovative use of existing research resources to investigate the underlying causes of stillbirth.
“The stillbirth of a child is a tragedy which devastates families. Yet, as a population, our awareness of stillbirth – particularly its causes and what can be done to prevent it – is worryingly low,” said Mark Drakeford AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“As a Committee we are in no doubt that the current rate of stillbirths in Wales can be reduced.
“More needs to be done to raise public and professional awareness of stillbirth and the risk factors that contribute towards it.
“Greater effort is also needed to understand the underlying causes of stillbirth, particularly with over half of all deaths currently classified as ‘unexplained’.”
The Committee makes nine recommendations in its report including:
That the Welsh Government take an active lead – via the recently established National Stillbirth Working Group – in developing key public health messages as a matter of priority;
That the Welsh Government work with professional bodies and health boards in Wales to ensure that all expectant parents receive adequate information from clinicians and midwives about stillbirth and its associated risks; and,
That the Welsh Government, through the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research’s Clinical Research Centre, commission a comprehensive piece of work on the underlying causes of stillbirth.
The Health and Social Care Committee.