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There are at least聽聽stillbirths a year across the world.聽聽families each year suffer the loss of a stillborn baby in Australia, equating to six stillborn babies every day.

The death of an unborn baby is a tragedy that deeply affects聽. Parents continue to grieve for their baby for years. Their functioning and sense of self can be聽.

Here are five ways we can help parents cope with the tragedy of stillbirth.

1. Acknowledge parents鈥� loss

聽about stillbirth make it a topic many family, friends and communities feel ill-equipped to deal with and are unprepared to talk about. But avoiding the topic can聽.

Because others are uncomfortable with the topic, many parents feel unable to talk about their loss. And well-intentioned comments, such as 鈥渋t was meant to be鈥�, 鈥渢hese things happen鈥� and 鈥測ou can always have another baby鈥�, minimise parents鈥� loss and may only leave parents feeling more isolated in their grief.

Listening to parents and acknowledging their stillborn baby as a member of their family, and acknowledging their grief, is vital to improve care and reduce the impacts of this devastating loss.

2. Offer ongoing support to parents

Throughout the world,听聽are estimated to be living with depressive symptoms after stillbirth. Many suffer in silence due to the taboo surrounding stillbirth.

Respectful and supportive care is essential in hospital. But it鈥檚 often when parents arrive home without their baby that the reality hits and the long and often lonely journey of grieving begins.

驰别迟听聽in high-income countries receive a follow-up visit or phone call from their hospital. And only around half receive information about who to contact for support after they leave hospital. These figures are even lower for parents in developing regions.

3. Raise public awareness

Until fairly recently, stillbirth has been a聽, largely absent from the global health agenda. We need to improve public awareness of stillbirth to make sure our social communities and workplaces are equipped to provide the kind of support and recognition parents need.

Women and their partners should also be equipped with knowledge about how to reduce their risk of having a stillborn child.

Hearing the voices of bereaved parents in the public will help break down taboos. For public health campaigns to be effective, target populations need to be aware of the health threat as a first step, followed by messages that move the target audiences to action.

One of the most successful public health campaigns are the back to sleep campaigns to reduce sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The simple, universally targeted messages reached new and receptive parents.

If campaigns are not universally agreed to by all stakeholders, a plethora of competing campaigns may arise. This will confuse the target population, diminishing the campaigns鈥� value or, worse, they may cause harm.

Among the most successful public health campaigns are the back to sleep campaigns addressing SIDS.

Organisations such as聽,听,听,听听补苍诲听聽have a key role to play in supporting parents and raising public awareness. They are collaborating with the聽聽to develop a unified campaign.

4. Investigate each stillbirth

A critical analysis of every baby鈥檚 death can identify contributing factors to help explain the event and prevent future deaths. Such investigations can not only determine the cause of death, but can also unearth systems issues such as a failure to implement evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

Substandard care plays a role in聽. These cases often show the need to improve detection of women at increased risk during pregnancy.

New Zealand and the UK have national systems to ensure comprehensive review of every stillbirth and neonatal death. Australia鈥檚 federal government, through the NHMRC, has funded the聽, to reduce the stillbirth rate and improve care after stillbirth for affected families, including in subsequent pregnancies. This is a step in the right direction.

罢丑别听聽in partnership with the stillbirth CRE sets out聽聽for investigation and audit of these deaths, but the guidelines are yet to be fully implemented across Australia. Many stillbirths are not fully evaluated as to causes and contributing factors.

Training of health-care professionals in this area has聽, and the stillbirth research centre will work with maternity hospitals to expand this training.

5. Give parents answers

Parents want to know why their baby died. Finding a cause of stillbirth, and the factors that led to that cause, helps parents begin to make sense of their loss.

, and understanding what caused their baby鈥檚 death means having a better idea of the likelihood of the cause recurring in future pregnancies.

, such as low-dose aspirin, early scheduled birth, or treatment for anxiety and depression, may reduce the risk of recurrence and improve psychological outcomes.

In high-income countries,听聽of stillbirths are classified as 鈥渦nexplained鈥�, though many of these deaths are聽. By increasing the proportion of stillbirths that are appropriately investigated and improving diagnostic techniques, it may be possible to聽.

Problems with the structure and function of the聽聽are often linked to stillbirth.

However, many stillbirths occur unexpectedly in an otherwise healthy mother and baby, and remain unexplained after a full investigation. So,听聽to better understand the mechanisms for these unexplained stillbirths.

Victoria Bowring, general manager of Stillbirth Foundation Australia, contributed to this article.

If you are a parent needing support, visit:聽,听, or聽

, Professor, Mater Research Institute; Director, Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth,听;听, Research Associate, Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth, Mater Research Institute,听;听, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,听;听, Lead, Care after Stillbirth Program, Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth,听;听, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director, Kolling Institute of Medical Research Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology, Northern Clinical School,听, and聽, Associate Professor,听

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