OUR MISSION
This website is dedicated to stillbirth research funding, encouraging advocacy, raising awareness to the general public, and educating expectant parents on possible ways to prevent such catastrophes, in hopes of decreasing the number of babies that are gone too soon.
OUR VISION
We would like to see a brighter future, where stillbirth is not a forbidden topic, but one that everyone can candidly discuss in an earnest manner, especially clinicians. Did you ever see a commercial on TV discussing this heartbreaking subject? Or where have you seen a gigantic billboard raising awareness about this? A great deal of things must change before stillbirth gets the recognition it requires and deserves. Nothing will ever change if our outlook on such a grave topic is not transformed. Once that occurs, I hope that tremendous efforts and more preventative approaches will arise, allowing for reduction of this tragic incidence among many babies. It is our hope that growing technology and more research on stillbirth will lead to the identification of avoidable causes and increase the number of live births.
TURNING A LOSS INTO GAIN
They say, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". I can be a cynical person and continue to drown in my sorrow, but I cannot and refuse to be silent on stillbirth. I owe it to my daughter. There is ambiguity surrounding stillbirth and uncertainty regarding stillbirths that could have been averted. Unlike our experience, I believe every expectant parent should have the right to be educated by their clinicians on stillbirth risk factors and on imminent signs to report as early as possible. Every expectant parent of a stillborn baby should have the right to:
Have available trained hospital staff (nurses, doctors, social workers) to handle parents who are facing the birth of a stillborn baby, encourage bonding with the baby and provide all necessary resources.
Birth certificate for the stillborn child. A person must be born to die, hence, a death certificate isn't only inadequate, but it adds to the mental agony of the parents who feel that the world doesn't recognize their baby ever existed. Refer to the following link to determine whether your state passed a bill, Stillbirth Research and Awareness act of 2011, which allows the issuance of Certificate of Birth resulting in Stillbirth. This bill has been signed and sponsored by 34 states so far. This form is different from the death certificate that is filed with the department of health. You may also want to consider contacting your congressman if your state does not currently issue such a certificate. http://www.missingangelsbill.org/
Be instructed on the importance of fetal autopsy in the setting of an unknown cause of death and advised to consider it. Options for autopsy should be discussed in detail, including full, limited or step wise postmortem examination.
Bring their baby home if there is a desire to do so. The hospital would not discharge me with my baby. How does an institution so foreign to my child get the right to make such a decision on the baby I just gave birth to... my baby??? New York is one of 8 states that does not allow you to take your baby home and would only release to funeral director. Check the following link for the states that allow such disposition. On a side note, perhaps you can discuss taking your baby from the funeral director once he/she is released. http://whenyourbabydies.com/
In addition, development of standardized approach to fetal and perinatal autopsy is absolutely essential. A national registry should be created to share data on stillborn babies in hopes of providing more information to clinicians and researchers.