Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network

In 2003, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) established the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) to study the extent and causes of stillbirth in the United States. The SCRN encompasses five clinical sites: Brown University, Rhode Island; Emory University, Georgia; University of Texas, Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas; University of Texas, Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, Texas; and University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Utah and a Data Coordinating and Analysis Center- Research Triangle Institute International, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The network covers substantial portions of 5 states - Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Georgia, Texas and Utah - and reflects urban/rural and racial diversity. The network aims include: (1) obtaining a geographic, population-based determination of the incidence of stillbirth defined as fetal death at 20 weeks gestation or greater and (2) determining the causes of stillbirth using a standard stillbirth postmortem protocol, to include review of clinical history, protocols for autopsy and pathologic examinations of the fetus and placenta, and other postmortem tests to illuminate genetic, maternal, and other environmental influences for stillbirth.

The network developed a multi-site, population-based, hypothesis-driven, case-control study, with prospective enrollment of stillbirths as cases and of live births as controls. The goal is to enroll 500 cases of stillbirth with full evaluations performed (including fetal autopsies) and 1,850 control live births with an over-sampling of preterm births. The full study protocol began in May 2006 with 56 hospitals currently participating in the study.

The information derived from this five-year study will benefit families who have experienced a stillbirth, women who are pregnant or who are considering pregnancy, and their physicians. In addition, the knowledge will support future research aimed at improving preventive and therapeutic interventions and understanding the pathological mechanisms that lead to stillbirth.