Stillbirth Study Starts!

After two years of preparation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) multi-center
study investigating the scope and causes of stillbirth began at The University of 
Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) on March 27, 2006.  UTMB, one of five institutions 
selected nationally to coordinate this groundbreaking research, will be focusing 
its efforts on patients living in Galveston and Brazoria counties.  Over the next 
two years, the study hopes to identify at least 90% of all stillbirths to mothers 
living in these two counties – no easy task when you consider that these mothers 
deliver at any one of more than 11 hospitals, including Angleton-Danbury, Brazosport 
Memorial, Clear Lake Regional, Mainland, Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Southeast,
Methodist, St. John’s, St. Joseph’s, UTMB and The Woman’s Hospital.

The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) Project is a prospective, 
case-control study.  Therefore, both stillbirths and gestational age matched, 
live birth controls will be approached for possible participation in the project.  
Because the majority of stillbirths occur before 7 months in pregnancy, special 
emphasis will be placed on recruiting all pre-term live birth controls less than 
32 weeks gestation born to mothers in the catchment area.

Patients who experience a stillbirth, which the study defines as a spontaneous 
fetal loss after 20 weeks gestation, will be offered autopsy, placental exam and 
fetal chromosome analysis at no charge.  A maternal interview, maternal blood 
draw, chart abstraction, specialized genetic testing and tissue banking for future 
studies will also be performed.  Controls will be offered similar testing as 
appropriate for live births.  

National vital statistics information indicates that approximately 1 in 200 
pregnancies ends in stillbirth, although the true incidence of stillbirth may be 
underreported.  Currently, the cause of the loss is determined in no more than 
50% of cases.  The SCRN Project will enable researchers to apply a standardized, 
state-of-the-art examination to all cases of stillbirth in the study and hopes 
to offer families experiencing this type of tragedy insight into the cause of 
their loss and possibly treatment options for subsequent pregnancies.

Across the country, more than fifty community hospitals will be combining their 
efforts to recruit 500 cases, the largest and most comprehensive evaluation of 
stillbirth to date.  Locally, an additional 6 community hospitals will begin 
screening for the Stillbirth Project on May 1, 2006 .

Who is eligible to participate?
-Galveston and Brazoria County Residents only
-Mother must be at least 13 years old.
-Mother must be non-incarcerated.

Stillbirths:
-Any IUFD 20 weeks GA or older (18+ weeks if not well dated)
-APGARs of 0 and 0
-Not the result of a termination

Live Birth Controls
-All 20 – 236 weeks GA approached
-All 24-316 weeks screened for GA matching
-Term 32-40+ Selected on random days & times for GA matching


Contact UTMB Public Affairs:
Media Hotline
(409)-772-6397