Members of the PLRG attended the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Maternity & Perinatal Loss Network Meeting 2024 on Wednesday 06 November in Dublin. The meeting featured presentations on education, training, research, and initiatives taking place in maternity settings across the country.

The Radical Humanities Laboratory and Comhrá (Cork Medical Humanities Research & Teaching Alliance) hosted a roundtable event on reproductive justice at UCC on October 30. Dr Céire Broderick, Marita Hennessy PhD (PLRG), Dr Claire Murray and Dr Basia Sliwinska spoke about their work in this area. Dr Kylie Thomas - Senior Lecturer at the Radical Humanities Laboratory and in Art History at UCC – then facilitated a panel discussion on points of connection, with audience input. Dr Oana Marian and Dr Sara Leitao also attended on behalf of the PLRG.

We are delighted to welcome Dr Oana Marian to the Pregnancy Loss Research Group. Oana recently joined the team as a Postdoctoral Researcher – Knowledge Broker. In this role, she focuses on the translation of research about pregnancy and infant loss into practical resources for health professionals and the public. 

Our warmest congratulations to Dr Caroline Joyce and Dr Laura Linehan who were conferred with their PhDs during the UCC College of Medicine and Health Autumn Conferring Ceremony held at Devere Hall on 25 October 2024.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) President's Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of Consultants in the areas of research, innovation and clinical practice in the Irish health service. Congratulations to Professor Keelin O’Donoghue and Dr Brendan Fitzgerald who were finalists in the research and clinical practice categories of the inaugural awards, respectively.

We are now accepting applications for a Clinical Research Fellow to support the work of pillar 1 of the ELEVATE programme – PREVENT: Prediction of the at-risk pregnancy and prediction of sentinel events before birth associated with early brain injury and cerebral palsy.

As part of its activities for Baby Loss Awareness Week, the Pregnancy Loss Research Group held a study day on Friday 11 October to showcase its latest research in pregnancy and infant loss. Over 80 people from across the South South West Hospital Group attended the educational event.

On the second day of Baby Loss Awareness Week, the Pregnancy Loss Research Group is launching a policy brief to support advocacy efforts around the introduction of workplace supports for people who experience pregnancy loss under 24 weeks. This summarises findings from the PLACES (Pregnancy Loss in Workplaces: Informing policymakers on support mechanisms) project, which was conducted by researchers at University College Cork and the University of Galway.

Driving evidence-informed change in policy and practice is a core part of our work at the Pregnancy Loss Research Group. As Baby Loss Awareness Week begins, we wish to take the opportunity to highlight some of the activities that we will be engaging in over the course of the week – as part of our ongoing efforts to effect change around all forms of pregnancy and infant loss.

Two hundred delegates attended a Fetal Medicine Study Day delivered by world-leading experts at University College Cork (UCC) on Friday 27 September. The event was hosted by the Pregnancy Loss Research Group, in collaboration with the International Fetal Medicine & Surgery Society (IFMSS) and RCSI, with support from the Health Research Board.