‘InUTERO’: The effectiveness of an educational half day stillbirth awareness workshop for maternity care providers

Abstract

BackgroundThere is a disconnect between what maternity care providers consider should be done and what they actually do with respect to talking with their pregnant clients about reducing their risk of stillbirth. This suggests that they would benefit from receiving up-to-date knowledge about stillbirth, alongside education that provides them with strategies for talking about stillbirth with pregnant women. ObjectivesTo gain an understanding of maternity care provider (obstetricians and midwives) knowledge of stillbirth and determine whether delivering a half day workshop improves knowledge and results in intention to change practice. DesignA pre-post intervention study. SettingMaternity care providers (Obstetricians, Midwives) working in the northern areas of Tasmania, Australia were asked, via questionnaire, about their knowledge of stillbirth both before and after attending a half-day workshop. ParticipantsMaternity care providers (n = 51) attended the workshop and 30 (59%) completed both the pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys. MethodsA four hour interactive workshop grounded in understanding the stillbirth experience. Participants were given up-to-date information about stillbirth risks and current prevention research as well as provided with an actionable step wise approach to talking about stillbirth prevention in pregnancy. ResultsStillbirth knowledge scores (total of 8-points) significantly increased following the workshop (pre: mean = 2.9 ± 1.5; post: mean = 4.7 ± 1.4 points, t 29 = 7.9, <0.001). Before the workshop, only 20% of participants responded that they “always” or usually” discussed the possibility stillbirth occurring with pregnant women in their care whereas, after the workshop, nearly all (88%) indicated that they planned to “always” discuss stillbirth with their pregnant clients. ConclusionsAttending a stillbirth awareness for prevention education workshop resulted in significant knowledge improvement and self-reported intention to change practice in a group of Australian maternity care providers. While these results are promising, further study is needed to determine the presence and extent of actual practice change following such education.