“As a pregnant woman, how can I contribute to the management of my own care if I don’t know the risks?” Mum

Although, it is important to remember that most pregnancies are free of problems and the vast majority of babies are born alive and healthy, stillbirths do happen.  Mothers who have experienced this loss often say they had no idea that babies sometimes die and wish they had known it was a possibility. They might have acted differently if they had known there was any risk.

Lack of awareness and the misconception that stillbirth is a thing of the past, increases the risk that both parents and health professionals might miss warning signs and find out too late that pregnancies can go wrong.

At Sands we think it is important that mothers should have access to information about stillbirth. This includes what information there is about the causes of stillbirth, and an awareness of possible warning signs if something is not right.

The Sands/Public Health Messaging Task and Finish Group is a multi-disciplinary group working to develop a set of messages that are acceptable to clinicians and parents in building awareness of  stillbirth risk to ensure mothers-to-be are informed and empowered. 

If you are a mother-to-be and want more information on what you can do to stay healthy in pregnancy, please visit our Advice for a safer pregnancy section.