MiNESS 20-28

MiNESS 20-28 - Mothers Working to Prevent Early Stillbirth Study

The MiNESS 20-28 research study builds on the work of our co-funded MiNESS research study, which found that sleep position can affect the risk of stillbirth after 32 weeks' gestation, to explore how sleep position and other factors might have an impact on the risk of stillbirth between 20-28 weeks.

Each year in the UK, around 1,600 babies die before or shortly after birth between 20 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Factors such as sleep position and caffeine intake are thought to have an impact on the risk of stillbirth during pregnancy, but it is still not clear what impact these factors might have earlier in pregnancy between 20-28 weeks.

The previous MiNESS research into sleep position and stillbirth risk, co-funded with Tommy's, Cure Kids and Action Medical Research, showed that after 32 weeks of pregnancy women who went to sleep on the back were twice as likely to have a stillbirth compared to women who went to sleep on their sides.

We are now supporting the Mothers Working to Prevent Early Stillbirth Study (MiNESS 20-28) to see if these risks are also present during 20-28 weeks of pregnancy.

This study will also investigate whether sleep position is related to early stillbirth risk, and to identify other factors that might have an impact on pregnancy loss, between 20-28 weeks. You can find out more about the research study in the video below.

Could you take part?

The research team is looking for parents with experience of pregnancy loss between 20-28 weeks, and people who are currently pregnant, to part in the research. Hospitals around the UK are involved in the research study, and you can take part if you are received or are receiving care in one of those hospitals (see the map below).

Taking part involves having a meeting online or face to face (lasting 1-2 hours) with a research midwife. The midwife will ask about you about your background, general health, lifestyle, pregnancy symptoms and the healthcare provided by your midwife or doctor during their pregnancy.

If you (or a friend or family member) are receiving pregnancy care at a participating hospital, you may be invited to take part. You can also ask the healthcare professionals looking after you in the hospital about the research study. We hope that you will consider joining the study.