Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group (SAWG)

Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group (SAWG)

VISION: A world without preventable stillbirths or newborn deaths, and with appropriate respectful and supportive care for all who are affected.

MISSION: To advocate for a world without preventable stillbirths or newborn deaths, and appropriate respectful and supportive care for all who are affected. We strive to achieve this through:

  1. Promoting global collaboration

  2. Coordinating advocacy around key moments

  3. Elevating the voices of affected families

  4. Empowering and supporting healthcare providers

  5. Driving data-driven action through advocacy for high-quality data

  6. Advocating for integration of stillbirth into all relevant maternal and child health initiatives

The working group is co-chaired by:

Susannah Hopkins Leisher, Co-Director, University of Utah Stillbirth Center of Excellence, USA
Dr. Hannah Blencowe, Centre for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK with additional rotating co-chairs from the SAWG core team.

Learn more about ISA membership and join us here.

SAWG Meetings

The Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group (SAWG) holds digital meetings every first Wednesday of the month. SAWG offers an equal platform for a variety of stakeholders – parents, family, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, health managers, students – to collaborate, engage, and advocate. Please see our SAWG Code of Conduct.

Join SAWG

Interested in joining SAWG? We look forward to having you!

Submit the form below and you will be added to the SAWG mailing list. You will then receive invitations to join upcoming meetings. By submitting the form you agree to the SAWG Code of Conduct.

Note that you must be an ISA member to join SAWG.

Not yet an ISA member? To learn more about ISA membership and to join please click here.

If you no longer wish to be part of SAWG, please email us at progcoord@stillbirthalliance.org so we can take you off the mailing list.

SAWG Affiliate Groups

SAWG currently has 2 Affiliate Groups:

  • SAWG Africa, chaired by Linda Vanotoo. SAWG Africa meets monthly on the last Sunday of the month at 4 pm. SAWG Africa is open to all working on or interested in stillbirth prevention and care in Africa. Please email Linda at lavanotoo@yahoo.com to learn more or join the group.
  • SAWG-USA, chaired by Zan Leisher. SAWG-USA meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month at 5 pm EST. SAWG-USA is open to all working on or interested in stillbirth prevention and care in the USA. Please email sawg-usa@hsc.utah.edu to learn more or join the group.

SAWG encourages the formation of regional and country groups to further our vision of a world without preventable stillbirths or newborn deaths, and with appropriate respectful and supportive care for all who are affected. Click here to learn more about Affiliate Groups or email us at sawg@stillbirthalliance.org