Dr Brendan Fitzgerald, Consultant Perinatal Pathologist at Cork University Hospital, presented two papers on second trimester miscarriage at the recent Annual Meeting of the Paediatric Pathology Society. This work forms part of the perinatal pathology strand of research at the Pregnancy Loss Research Group.

We held a Stillbirth Webinar “Stillbirth Matters – Prevention, Investigation, Management, and Care Webinar⁠” in conjunction with the Institute of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland on 04 October 2023. 

Members of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group attended and presented at the UCC College of Medicine and Health (CoMH) Futures Research Conference on 21 September.

Congratulations to Caroline Joyce who recently obtained Fellowship (by examination) of the Royal College of Pathologists London.

Congratulations to Marita Hennessy PhD who was recently awarded a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Irish Research Council (IRC). During her two-year fellowship, Marita will develop and pilot test a psychosocial intervention for staff in maternity hospitals/units in Ireland under the mentorship of Professor Keelin O’Donoghue.

The TEARDROP has become the recognised symbol of pregnancy loss at Cork University Maternity Hospital. Initially designed in 2009 as a communication tool for multidisciplinary staff to alert colleagues when a pregnancy loss had occurred, the TEARDROP has evolved from a discreet alert symbol to one which promotes excellence in perinatal bereavement care.

Ruadh Kelly-Harrington attended and presented at the International Conference for Parental Policies and Supports at St John of York University, York on 20 and 21 July 2023.

Marita Hennessy attended the Broadly Conceived Conference 2023 at Birkbeck, University of London on 08 July 2023. She presented work from the PLATFORM project titled “It makes people uncomfortable”: How can we get pregnancy loss research evidence into policy and practice?” in a panel session on pregnancy loss.

Professor Keelin O’Donoghue and Marita Hennessy PhD attended the 16^th Health Services Research UK Annual Conference at the University of Birmingham from 04-07 July 2023, presenting work from a range of projects undertaken by the Pregnancy Loss Research Group.

Professor Keelin O’Donoghue was awarded the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA) Distinguished Researcher Award for her contribution or her contribution to research on stillbirth/newborn death. The award was conferred at the closing ceremony of the 2023 conference, hosted at the University of Sheffield from 30 June to 02 July.