In the UK, around 1 in 225 pregnancies end in stillbirth, causing an unimaginable amount of pain and suffering and yet, there is little understanding as to why stillbirth occurs or how to prevent it, as research remains chronically underfunded. What’s more, care for mothers who are at risk of stillbirth, or for couples who have experienced the loss of their unborn child, is sorely limited.

Dr Michelle Desforges is a scientist at The Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre (MFHRC) who is interested in how problems with the placenta can lead to pregnancy complications and loss. Her latest project, Still Life, is an engagement-based programme has recently been awarded funding from the Wellcome Trust.

Still Life will focus on lived experiences of pregnancy and loss of children to stillbirth or neonatal death. The project will specifically involve the Jewish community of Greater Manchester but will also co-ordinate input and conversation from creative partners, the national pregnancy research charity Tommy’s and researchers in maternal health.

Wellcome’s Public Engagement Fund was started in 2017 to enable individuals and organisations to use creative approaches to engage the public with health research. Still Life was part of a second set of awards under the new scheme announced at the start of October and will receive £63,286.

The aim of the project is to both empower the Jewish Community to contribute to future research, and diversify the wider pregnancy research community.

Michelle explains: “Raising awareness, stimulating thinking, and promoting discussion of placental research with the public is an important part of my job. The funding for this project will enable an in-depth creative exploration of stillbirth and research focussed on its prevention, working hand in hand with a community to whom pregnancy research is hugely relevant. It will provide a unique opportunity for conversation between researchers and women who have experienced pregnancy complications or loss that will develop understanding of placental research, tackle taboos around the subject of stillbirth, and ultimately help MFHRC to prioritise research themes.”