Beyond the headlines: Fetal movement awareness is an important stillbirth prevention strategy
Section snippets
Declaration of interest
Vicki Flenady, David Ellwood, Glenn Gardener, Philippa Middleton, Michael Coory, Megan Weller, Della Forster, Adrienne Gordon, Fran Boyle, Katie Groom, Caroline Crowther, and Sue Walker are investigators on the My Baby’s Movements trial funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia. Ingela Radestad is the lead investigator for the Mindfetalness trial. Keelin O’Donoghue is the lead investigator for REducing stiLlbirth through bEhaViour chAnge iNtervenTions (RELEVANT)
References (17)
- et al.
Routine formal fetal movement counting and risk of antepartum late death in normally formed singletons
Lancet (London, England)
(1989) - et al.
Encouraging awareness of fetal movements is harmful
Lancet (London, England)
(2018) - et al.
Vaginal progesterone prophylaxis for preterm birth (the OPPTIMUM study): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind trial
Lancet (London, England)
(2016) - et al.
Stillbirths: the way forward in high-income countries
Lancet (London, England)
(2011) - et al.
Stillbirths: recall to action in high-income countries
Lancet (London, England)
(2016) Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health
(2018)- et al.
Fetal movement counting for assessment of fetal wellbeing
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
(2015) - et al.
Alterations in maternally perceived fetal movement and their association with late stillbirth: findings from the Midland and North of England stillbirth case-control study
BMJ Open
(2018)
Cited by (19)
Consistent evidenced based information for women about fetal movements is important
2020, Women and BirthOnline resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences
2020, MidwiferyCitation Excerpt :There has been a recent policy and practice focus on supporting raising women's awareness of reduced fetal movements (RFM) as part of NHS England Saving Babies Lives care bundle (NHSE, 2017). Limited implementation data means effectiveness of this awareness raising strategy is difficult to assess (Flenady et al., 2019; Norman et al., 2018). Our survey highlights tensions in balancing the need for increased public awareness versus unintended public health consequences.
Survey of Australian maternity hospitals to inform development and implementation of a stillbirth prevention ‘bundle of care’
2020, Women and BirthCitation Excerpt :While beyond the scope of this article, it is evident further work in this area is a priority. This will be aided by data from our ongoing studies and a planned individual participant data meta-analysis.28 Views regarding the value of improving advice about maternal sleeping position were most varied, whilst the majority (78%) considered this important, nearly 1 in 5 services did not.
Obstetric Care Consensus #10: Management of Stillbirth: (Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 102, March 2009)
2020, American Journal of Obstetrics and GynecologyCitation Excerpt :There are insufficient data to make specific recommendations regarding fetal kick counts. Best practices regarding fetal kick counting seems to involve encouragement of awareness of fetal movement patterns, being attentive to the complaint of reduced fetal movements, addressing the complaint in a systematic way, and the use of shared decision making to use interventions safely.139 The decision to proceed with early delivery to prevent stillbirth must incorporate an understanding of the increased risks of maternal and neonatal complications compared with the potential benefits.
Maternally perceived fetal movement patterns: The influence of body mass index
2020, Early Human DevelopmentCitation Excerpt :In high-income countries maternal obesity is the leading modifiable risk-factor for stillbirth, surpassing even maternal smoking in terms of the population attributable fraction [7]. A common strategy used in clinical practice to prevent stillbirth is monitoring of maternally perceived fetal movements [8]. In approximately half of stillbirth cases maternal perception of decreased fetal movements (DFM) precedes diagnosis of fetal death [9].