One of the many gaps in stillbirth prevention and care is the absence of parent voices. Bereaved parents’ silence reduces the quality of care post-stillbirth and perpetuates the stigma associated with stillbirth. There is often little to no conversation post-stillbirth between healthcare providers and parents; societal attitudes which prevent grieving for a stillborn baby are perpetuated; women may be viewed as “less important” if their baby is stillborn; and bereaved mothers may fall through cracks in the health system, lowering their quality of care, particularly in the postpartum period.
The ISA aims to inform global guidelines for comprehensive global bereavement care standards guided by the bereaved parents, which currently is a major gap in the continuum of care.
In this context, the ISA has developed the following two toolkits under the “Parent Voices Initiative” with funding from the PMNCH and WHO SEARO. These toolkits are designed to be readily adaptable to different countries. If you are interested in adapting these toolkits in your setting, we would be happy to help. Please contact us at [email protected].
