title: Challenges and priorities for surveillance of stillbirths: a report on two workshops.
abstract: Stillbirths, those with and without birth defects, are an important public health topic. The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted two workshops during April and July 2005. Both workshops explored the challenges of conducting surveillance of stillbirths. Workshop participants considered an approach that added the surveillance of stillbirths, those with and without birth defects, as part of existing population-based birth defects surveillance programs in Iowa and Atlanta. The workshops addressed three key aspects for expanding birth defects programs to conduct active, population-based surveillance on stillbirths: (1) case identification and ascertainment, (2) data collection, and (3) data use and project evaluation. Participants included experts in pediatrics, obstetrics, epidemiology, maternal-fetal medicine, perinatology and pediatric pathology, midwifery, as well as practicing clinicians and pathologists. Expanding existing birth defects surveillance programs to include information of stillbirths could potentially enhance the data available on fetal death reports and also could benefit such programs by improving the ascertainment of birth defects.
authors.affiliation: Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, MS E-86, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. cduke@cdc.gov
authors.forename: C Wes
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Duke
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Romitti
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kirby
mesh_terms: D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology