The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) Placental and Umbilical Cord Examination Protocol

• Authors: Halit Pinar, Brown University; Matthew A. Koch, RTI International; Hal Hawkins, University of Texas Galveston; Josefine Heim-Hall, University of Texas San Antonio; Bahig Shehata, Emory University; Vanessa R. Thorsten, RTI International; Marshall Carpenter, Tufts University; Amy Lowichik, University of Utah; Uma M. Reddy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• Journal Title: American Journal of Perinatology Reports
• Volume: Volume 28, Number 10
• Publisher: Thieme Open | 2011-11-01, Pages 781-792
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1281509
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Obstetrics & Gynecology; Pediatrics; Stillbirth; placenta; umbilical cord; cause of death; PATHOLOGISTS CONFERENCE-XIX; OF-AMERICAN-PATHOLOGISTS; FETAL-DEATH; REACTION PATTERNS; REFERENCE VALUES; WORKING GROUP; COLLEGE; REPRODUCIBILITY; NOSOLOGY; WEIGHTS

Abstract

The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) was organized to study the scope and causes of stillbirth (SB) in the United States. The objective of this report is to describe the approach used for the placental examination performed as part of the study. The SCRN consists of a multidisciplinary team of investigators from five clinical sites, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Data Coordination and Analysis Center. The study is a population-based cohort and nested case-control study, with prospective enrollment of women with SB and live births (LB) at the time of delivery. Detailed and standardized postmortem examination was performed on SB and placental examination in both groups. A total of 663 women with SB and 1932 women with LB were enrolled into the case-control study. In the SB group, there were 707 fetuses. Of these cases, 654 (98.6%) had placental examination. Of these LB controls, 1804 (93.4%) had placental examination. This is the largest prospective study to include population-based SB and LB, using standardized postmortem and placental examination, medical record review, maternal interview, collection of samples, and a multidisciplinary team of investigators collaborating in the analyses. Thus it has the potential to provide high-level evidence regarding the contribution of placental abnormalities to stillbirth.