• About
  • Mission & Vision
  • Team
  • Strategic Plan
  • Global Action Agenda
  • Seattle Children's
  • Privacy and Terms of Use
• Projects
  • GAPPS Research
  • Harmonization
  • Interventions
  • Advocacy
  • Ethics
• Research
  • Our research approach
  • GAPPS Repository
  • Harmonization
  • Ethics Research
  • Preventing Preterm Birth Initiative
• Advocacy
  • Understand the Problem
  • Set Priorities
  • Close the Gaps
  • Make A Difference
• Resources
  • Issues and GAPPS FAQs
  • Advocacy Toolkit
  • For Parents
  • Media Center
  • Publications & Reports

Achievements

Summary of Stakeholder Achievements in Prematurity and Stillbirth

Steady Progress Brings Goals Within Reach

Stakeholders are making notable progress toward achieving GAA milestones. Key accomplishments include:

• Discovery: Epidemiology and Basic Science
• Development & Delivery of Interventions
• Advocacy
• Fundraising
• Ethics

Stakeholder Progress: Discovery: Epidemiology and Basic Science

• Developing classification systems for both preterm births & stillbirths: discussed during phenotype definitions workgroup at the University of Oxford
• Creating expert group to define phenotypes of PTB: Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute offered to be the Lead Agency for this milestone
• Developing “think-tank” meetings on the basic biology of human parturition: establish a Special Interest Group (e.g., Physiology of Human Parturition and Preterm Birth Interest Group); develop an online presence (possibly as part of the GAPPS web site) as a forum to share data; resources and ideas and facilitate communication between group members, hold events at the SGI (mostly basic scientists) and SMFM (mostly clinicians) meetings
• A stillbirth series in The Lancet: several participants at the International Conference on Prematurity & Stillbirth contributed to this series
• Building collection of maternal and paternal data and specimens for the GAPPS Repository
• Developing CHNRI-based research processes for preterm birth and stillbirth epidemiology
• Collecting data on intrapartum stillbirths in high-impact countries
• Expanding study on fetal and newborn growth: Intergrowth 21st—the University of Oxford’s program to study fetal and newborn growth—has expanded to 10 sites around the world

Stakeholder Progress: Development and Delivery of Interventions

• Identified 21 evidence-based interventions that can be implemented in low-resource settings
• Writing papers utilizing the CHNRI research prioritizing process for community- and facility-based strategies in LMICs: completed/conducting CHNRI exercises; coincides with stillbirth series in The Lancet
• Organizing a symposium of "Neonatal respiratory and intensive care" updating recent advances in perinatal-neonatal medicine for 200 neonatologists from different parts of China: collaborating with Seattle Children’s Research Institute
• Seeking funding and feasibility for conducting a population study on the incidence of prematurity in Malaysia
• Developing intrapartum and antenatal care packages

Stakeholder Progress: Advocacy

• Countdown to 2015 now includes preterm and stillbirth rates among the priority indicators
• Increasing visibility of preterm birth and stillbirth through before and after publishing the global report on preterm birth and stillbirth: international media coverage; presentations on key findings; National Press Club event; U.S. Capitol Hill briefing
• Submitted written testimony to Congressional Health Subcommittee for hearing on prematurity
• Presentations and/or panel discussions on prematurity and stillbirth at the following global health events: Pediatric Academic Society (May 2010)Women Deliver (June 2010); Pacific Health Summit (Pre-event in June 2010), American Public Health Associations (Month 2011)

Stakeholder Progress: Fundraising

• Increased focus by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in maternal and newborn health
• Requested global campaign for increased cooperative funding on research and development for prematurity and stillbirth

Stakeholder Progress: Ethics

•    Participated in bioethics conferences in Seattle and Singapore: Joint symposium on “Ethical Considerations in the Global Burden of Prematurity and Stillbirth Cross-cultural Perspectives” was presented for the World Congress in Bioethics, held July 2010 in Singapore
• Presented three GAPPS ethics presentations at Sixth Annual Pediatric Bioethics Conference, July 2010, “Tiny Babies, Large Questions”, with special session on “Justice and Prenatal and Neonatal Care in the Global Context”, Seattle, Washington
• Developed draft instrument for measuring the ethical dilemmas faced by women surrounding the birth of premature infants; piloted in Zambia
• Preparing “Points to Consider” document for publication
• Advancing the Indian bioethics group’s plans for research on the ethical and cross cultural issues on prematurity