Mother’s Sleeping Position May Reduce Risk Of Stillbirth

Embargoed media release Embargoed until 10.30am Wednesday 15 June 2011

Cure Kids Research Reveals Mother’s Sleeping Position May Reduce Risk Of Stillbirth

New Zealand has second highest rate of stillbirths in developed countries. It accounts for 75% of all baby deaths and is more than NZ’s annual road toll Cure Kids has funded first of its kind research which could revolutionise the prevention of stillbirth, bringing hope to the hundreds of parents who have lost a baby, just when they expect to welcome a new life.

A report published today in the British Medical Journal shows that research led by New Zealand experts has shown that women who sleep on their left on their last night of pregnancy have a fifty percent higher chance of a normal birth, versus those who sleep on their right side or back.

It also shows that women who get up more frequently to go to the toilet during the night have a reduced risk of late stillbirth, compared to those who get up once or less during the night of pregnancy.

The study involved asking detailed questions to 155 women in Auckland who gave birth to a stillborn baby between July 2006 and June 2009 when they were at least 28 weeks pregnant, compared to a control group of 310 women with ongoing pregnancies.

New Zealand researchers say findings will be important at a population level and have called for further research on the impact of restricted blood flow to the baby when the mother lies on her back or right for long periods to help explain this link. Professor Lesley McCowan from Auckland University's Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department said smoking and obesity are the biggest risk factors involved with stillbirth, however almost a third of stillbirths are unexplained.

"Late stillbirth is ten times more common than cot death, and yet there has been very little research money available to investigate the problem until Cure Kids funded this recent study," McCowan said. Cure Kids Professor of Child Health Research, Ed Mitchell, who let the world-first advances into the risk of cot death and its prevention was one of the senior investigators in the Auckland Stillbirth Study.

Vicki Lee, chief executive of Cure Kids, says Cure Kids will continue to fund research to help investigate how a mother’s sleep position can reduce stillbirth.

“Obviously confirmatory studies are needed before public health recommendations can be made, but this is potentially so important that confirmatory studies are needed immediately and Cure Kids will help do this,” says Lee.

Cure Kids was established over 35 years ago to address the lack of research into lifethreatening childhood illnesses in New Zealand and has invested over twenty-six million dollars in vital medical research to improve the quality of life for thousands of children and save lives.

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