Meeting abstracts from the International Stillbirth Alliance Conference 2017

Abstract

Stillbirth is a major global public health problem. Maternal perception of decreased fetal movements (DFM) is often the only warning sign. The My Baby's Movements (MBM) trial aims to reduce stillbirth rates using a mobile platform to enhance maternal knowledge about decreased fetal movement and encourage timely health-care seeking behaviour combined with a clinician education program on management of DFM. A stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised design, involving 26 hospitals (8 clusters) and 260,000 women in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) over a 3-year period (2016-2018). The primary outcome measure is stillbirth rates after 28 weeks' gestation will be reduced by 30%. Satisfaction with the app is sought from users through a brief survey incorporated into the app. The MBM mobile application has been developed, after pilot testing including iterative cycles of testing and improvement. App content is based on the ANZ DFM Clinical practice guidelines and brochure for women. MBM implementation is underway with results due in 2019. Initial feedback from users is very positive. The SWCRCT is an ideal design for large scale trials required to address stillbirth providing a pragmatic while robust evaluation model. The My Baby's Movements trial will generate information about fetal movement awareness, health promotion and perinatal health outcomes associated with a mobile application intervention. Preliminary data suggests that the mobile phone app is well received by users.