TDH To Focus on Stillbirth Prevention in Statewide Awareness Campaign

Nashville - The Tennessee Department of Health is launching a significant maternal health campaign devoted to stillbirth prevention to provide expecting mothers and their families with education, information, and tools they can use to monitor their health, especially in the third trimester of pregnancies.

"We are working to improve maternal and infant health outcomes across Tennessee," State Health Commissioner Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP, said. "Stillbirths have a profound impact on families and preventing these tragedies is a top priority. We are committed to providing expectant mothers and their families with the knowledge and tools necessary to safeguard their pregnancies and support healthier outcomes."

Among the common signs and symptoms expectant mothers may experience indicating a potential problem with a pregnancy - cramping, abdominal pain, fever, vaginal bleeding or spotting - the TDH campaign will focus on how a change in the timing of a baby's normal movement is often the first, or only, indication to parents there could be an issue with the pregnancy.

TDH will launch the stillbirth prevention campaign in September encouraging expecting parents to download and use Count the Kicks, a free mobile app with online digital education materials and printable paper charts also available.

The Count the Kicks app will help expecting parents monitor and track their baby's movements once-a-day from the start of the third trimester, or 28 weeks, of their pregnancies. Changes to the time it normally takes for their baby to get to 10 movements could indicate potential problems and mean expecting parents should contact their healthcare provider right away.

The Count the Kicks app will be available in 21 languages and will make printed educational materials available to maternal health providers, social service agencies, and childbirth educators in English and Spanish.

TDH will host a free Count the Kicks webinar, at 10:30 a.m., Central, on Tue., Sept. 17, 2024, for healthcare providers and others to learn more about the importance of fetal movement monitoring and how to use the Count the Kicks app and materials effectively. Webinar registration is available at https://bit.ly/CTKTNWebinar.

Stillbirths are the loss of a baby at or after the 20th week of pregnancy. In 2021, there were 541 stillbirths in Tennessee. Approximately 32 percent of stillbirths occurred from 28 to 37 weeks gestation, and 16 percent occurred at more than 37 weeks gestation. It is estimated that one quarter of stillbirths are preventable.

See TDH's 2024 Report on Fetal Death in Tennessee for more information.