The UK's stillbirth figures are shocking. We are ranked 33 out of 35 high income countries - with 6500 stillbirths and neonatal deaths each year.
An attitude that stillbirth is inevitable has prevailed and so we are complacent when it comes to informing people and educating them. But the truth is that stillbirth is not inevitable. One third of stillborn babies are born after 37 weeks - a time when they could be safely delivered. Only 10% of stillbirths are caused by a fatal congenital abnormality, meaning there is the potential to save up to 90% of stillborn babies.
The charity Count the Kicks was founded after a desperate need for more information around baby's movements was identified in the UK. We knew more could be done to save these babies. We've been asking, why are our rates so high in the UK, and what are other countries doing to get their stillbirth rate down?
This week marks the start of our Count the Kicks new baby movement awareness campaign. As a charity we want to spread awareness and educate mums-to-be about the importance of baby movements. This is an issue that is close to all our hearts. Many of us involved with the charity - including me - have lost babies of our own to stillbirth or miscarriage. Our recent poll on the issue of baby movement shows that as many as 49% of pregnant women still don't understand what baby movements they should be checking for. That is why this campaign is so important.
The TV soap Hollyoaks will be running a storyline this week in which Mercedes' baby is stillborn after she notices reduced movement but doesn't act. We have worked closely with Hollyoaks on this storyline and are confident it will be a powerful tool for awareness. While it will be distressing to watch, we would rather people were able to see it happen to a fictional character and hopefully learn from her experience - rather than it happen to them or someone close to them. In the last year, we have learnt not to underestimate the power of the media when it comes to raising awareness. We will be doing a huge amount on social media throughout the week and would urge everyone to get on board and help spread the message.
We know that awareness can make a huge difference. Look at one of the nations who has reduced their stillbirth rate by 50% - Norway. How did they do it? In short, an initiative like Count the Kicks.
The majority of mums who have a stillbirth report retrospectively that they had noticed a change in their baby's movements prior to the diagnosis. Norway identified this and launched a campaign called 'kicks count' that informed mums of the importance of their baby's movements and gave a set pathway for medical professionals to follow. This saw their stillbirth rate drop dramatically while ours has remained unchanged for the last decade.
Our campaign aims to follow the success of Norway and bring the same level of education to the UK and ensure more lives are saved. We receive daily messages from mums whose babies have been delivered safely thanks to Count the Kicks - which really highlights how important the message is. However we do still receive messages from mums whose babies were sadly stillborn. That is why we are launching our awareness week to try and reach as many mothers as possible and ensure more babies are saved.
Guest posts
Guest post: "We must stop thinking of stillbirth as inevitable"
MumsnetGuestPosts · 02/11/2015 16:49
I don't know anyone who thinks stillbirths are inevitable. I think the word you're looking for is acceptable.
It's a good idea re the campaign and sorry for your loss 
What a very odd title.
I get that the writer means "likely once you've gone past a certain time without feeling the baby move" but of course it isn't inevitable. What a dramatic and silly way of putting it.
The problem is, even though you state the UK is 33/35 for stillbirth figures you need to factor in a whole lot more data to "prove" that that means Britain is crap at preventing stillbirth which is the premise of yet another scary shocky blog.
In Italy, up to 60% of births are done by c-section. So, the babies are born generally at about 37/38 weeks. Because it's convenient for the doctor who delivers them. So, in Italy, there are likely to be fewer stillbirths because the babies are born earlier. See? Statistics can prove anything you want. Also, in Italy, from 35 weeks onwards you have the fetal monitor thing slapped on you every 48 hours. So, less likely again.
to anyone who has been affected by stillbirth. My half sister lost a child to stillbirth 12 yrs ago.
My dd was stillborn last year. I had reported reduced movements on multiple occasions to my mw. It was my first pregnancy and was completely unaware I could go to the mau, I had never been told about it. I also didn't have mn then.
I had repeatedly told my mw the movements had reduced and twice I told her they stopped completely. The second time I told a different midwife who sent me to hospital where I found out my daughter has died.... Three weeks previously 
.
The previous midwife had always listened to the heartbeat and said it was fine. I later found out the last time I heard her heart beat it was intact mine.
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