Stillbirth Research Round Table Conferences
On May 26th Richard Olsen, founder and Executive Director of The National Stillbirth Society traveled to Washington DC where the first-ever research round table conference was held, sponsored by The MISS Foundation and facilitated by The International Stillbirth Alliance and First Candle/SIDS Alliance, the latter organization now being fully committed to the fight against stillbirth. The conference attracted prominent scientists from all over the world in this crucial first meeting.
(PRWEB) May 30, 2004
On May 26th Richard Olsen, founder and Executive Director of The National Stillbirth Society traveled to Washington DC where the first-ever research round table conference was held, sponsored by The MISS Foundation and facilitated by The International Stillbirth Alliance and First Candle/SIDS Alliance, the latter organization now being fully committed to the fight against stillbirth. The conference attracted prominent scientists from all over the world in this crucial first meeting. Other participants of the Round Table were:
1.) J. Frederik Frøen, MD, PhD (Main investigator and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of ISA), Perinatal Research Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Department of Pediatric Research, Rikshospitalet University Clinic, University of Oslo.
2.) Harriet Akre, MD, PhD, (co-investigator) Omnia Sleep Laboratories, Oslo.
3.) Michael Berman, MD, Ass. Prof. (SAC of ISA) Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Yale Medical School.
4.) Susan E. Crawford, MD, Ass. Prof. (SAC of ISA) Department of Pathology, Northwestern University.
5.) John DeFrain, PhD, Prof. (SAC of ISA) Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, College of Human Resources and Family Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, MISS Foundation, Board of Directors
6.) Malin Eberhard-Gran, MD, PhD, (co-investigator) The Norwegian Public Health Institute.
7.) Ruth C. Fretts, MD, MPH, Ass. Prof. (SAC of ISA) Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Harvard Medical Scool.
8.) Richard M. Pauli, MD, PhD, Prof. (SAC of ISA), Clinical Genetics Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
9.) Babill Stray-Pedersen, MD, PhD, Prof. (co-investigator and SAC of ISA) Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Rikshospitalet University Clinic, University of Oslo.
Sudden Antenatal Death Syndrome (SADS), better known by the familiar term, stillbirth is said to be "An Equal Opportunity Destroyer of Dreams". It cuts across socio-economic classes, races, religions, body types and maternal age groups. No woman is immune from this "last great mystery of obstetrics". Even women who have had several successful prior births can experience a subsequent stillbirth. That so many stillbirths occur at or near late term - when the developing baby is well beyond the point of viability and could survive outside the womb - is especially devastating, leading mothers and their doctors to speculate what might have been had their baby been delivered earlier. Autopsies, when performed, rarely uncover any cause of stillbirth not already apparent from a physical examination of the baby and placenta. Over half of these women will never discover why their babies died because doctors don't know, and autopsies don't show. One in every 115 babies delivered is a S. A.D. S. baby. This is an average of 70 babies dying a day in the U. S.A.
Without answers, there can be no prevention. Without prevention, there can be no peace. While some stillbirths may be unavoidable at present, it is babies who evidence no identifiable medical cause of death that should be capable of being saved now. Ultimately it is hoped that all stillbirths can be prevented. As parents we believe all our children matter. To learn more about S. A.D. S. and The National Stillbirth Society please view the website at www. stillnomore. org.
