Promoting Awareness Fetal Movements to Reduce Fetal Mortality Stillbirth, a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial. (AFFIRM)

Promoting Awareness Fetal Movements to Reduce Fetal Mortality Stillbirth, a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial.

Promoting Awareness Fetal Movements and Focussing Interventions Reduce Fetal Mortality Stillbirth, a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial.

Rates of stillbirth in Scotland are among the highest in resource rich countries. The majority of stillbirths occur in normally formed infants, with (retrospective) evidence of placental insufficiency being the commonest clinical finding. Maternal perception of decreased fetal movements appears to be an early biomarker both of placental insufficiency and subsequent stillbirth. The study proposed here will test the hypothesis that rates of stillbirth will be reduced by introduction of a package of care consisting of strategies for increasing pregnant women's awareness of the need for prompt reporting of decreased fetal movements, followed by a management plan for identification of placental insufficiency with timely delivery in confirmed cases. The odds of stillbirth fell by 30% after the introduction of a similar package of care in Norway but the efficacy of this intervention (and possible adverse effects and implications for service delivery) have not been tested in a randomized trial. The investigators plan a stepped wedge cluster design trial, in which hospitals in Scotland and Ireland will be randomized to the timing of introduction of the care package. Outcomes (including the primary outcome of stillbirth) will be derived from Scotland and Ireland's detailed routinely collected maternity data, allowing the investigators to robustly test the hypothesis. A nested qualitative study will examine the acceptability of the intervention to patients and health care providers and identify process issues (barriers to implementation).

A package of interventions consisting of strategies for increasing pregnant women's awareness of the need to report early when they perceive a reduction in fetal movements, followed with a management plan for identification and delivery of the "at risk" fetus in such women, will reduce rates of stillbirth

A package of interventions consisting of strategies for increasing pregnant women's awareness of the need to report early when they perceive a reduction in fetal movements, followed with a management plan for identification and delivery of the "at risk" fetus in such women, will reduce rates of stillbirth

Inclusion Criteria: The study will include all women delivering at one of the maternity units involved in for the duration of the study. Exclusion Criteria: Women delivering in the "washout" period in each unit.

Camacho EM, Whyte S, Stock SJ, Weir CJ, Norman JE, Heazell AEP. Awareness of fetal movements and care package to reduce fetal mortality (AFFIRM): a trial-based and model-based cost-effectiveness analysis from a stepped wedge, cluster-randomised trial. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022 Mar 22;22(1):235. doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04563-9.

Norman JE, Heazell AEP, Rodriguez A, Weir CJ, Stock SJE, Calderwood CJ, Cunningham Burley S, Froen JF, Geary M, Breathnach F, Hunter A, McAuliffe FM, Higgins MF, Murdoch E, Ross-Davie M, Scott J, Whyte S; AFFIRM investigators. Awareness of fetal movements and care package to reduce fetal mortality (AFFIRM): a stepped wedge, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2018 Nov 3;392(10158):1629-1638. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31543-5. Epub 2018 Sep 27. Erratum In: Lancet. 2020 Oct 24;396(10259):1334.

Heazell AEP, Weir CJ, Stock SJE, Calderwood CJ, Burley SC, Froen JF, Geary M, Hunter A, McAuliffe FM, Murdoch E, Rodriguez A, Ross-Davie M, Scott J, Whyte S, Norman JE. Can promoting awareness of fetal movements and focusing interventions reduce fetal mortality? A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial (AFFIRM). BMJ Open. 2017 Aug 11;7(8):e014813. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014813.