Reducing stillbirth. The benefit versus harm of detecting fetal growth restriction.

Against a backdrop of Victoria’s journey towards a learning maternity healthcare system, using the pursuit of improved detection of FGR, this thesis is a timely exposition of the balance between benefit and harm of improvement interventions. In essence, because stillbirth is rare, increasing focus on the detection of FGR is likely to prevent only a small number of stillbirths. However, at the same time, if we are not vigilant, that increased focus may bring a great burden of intervention and morbidity for normally grown babies. With the drive to reduce stillbirth only to increase, I hope that this work may usefully inform population level approaches in Australia and abroad.