Perinatal Mortality Report

Stage 2

Stage 2 of this project involves the development of a supplementary perinatal mortality bulletin that relates to the ‘Australia’s mothers and babies’ series of AIHW publications. The data will be sourced from jurisdictional perinatal mortality reviews and child death committees and integrated with the national Perinatal Data Collection

This will provide a national resource for clinicians, other health professionals, professional colleges and policy makers who need to review clinical practices within a safety and quality framework. Regular monitoring of perinatal mortality and serious morbidity is needed to ensure that best practice is maintained at all levels of health services. National reporting on perinatal mortality has largely been limited to perinatal mortality rates stratified by selected demographic and pregnancy characteristics. There has been limited reporting of the cause of perinatal death data. Comprehensive and timely data are needed to develop standards, or where standards cannot be set, to provide benchmarks against which clinical practice can be measured. Timely and relevant auditing and reporting of perinatal mortality and serious morbidity is a key learning tool for clinical practitioners in informing maternity quality and safety initiatives.