BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
4 years ago

The public awareness of stillbirth: An Irish population study

K O'Donoghue, S Meaney, D Nuzum
Objective To evaluate the general population's awareness of stillbirth. Design A cross sectional telephone population survey. Setting A nationally representative sample of the Irish adult population. Sample 999 members of the Irish population selected by random digit dialling. Methods Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the odds of identifying risk factors for stillbirth. Main outcome measures Public knowledge of incidence, risk factors, causes and social awareness about stillbirth. Results Only a minority, 17%, of respondents correctly identified the incidence of stillbirth. Men and those aged over 45 were more likely to say they did not know when a stillbirth occurs. Over half, 56% of respondents were unable to identify any stillbirth risk factors. Half of respondents, 53%, believed that the cause of stillbirth was due to a problem with the baby, 39% a problem with the mother, while 31% believed stillbirth occurred as a result of the care provided to the mother. The majority, 79%, believed that all stillbirths should be medically investigated, although women were more likely to suggest this (82% v 76.4% p=0.043). Stillbirth had been represented in traditional and online media for 75% of respondents and 54% said they personally knew someone who had a stillbirth. Conclusions There is a lack of public knowledge concerning the incidence, risk factors and causes of stillbirth. Improved public health initiatives and antenatal education are warranted to increase awareness of stillbirth risk factors and to improve care and monitoring during pregnancy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.14939

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.