RACGP Calls for Expanded Stillbirth Education for GPs
03 Nov 2025
The recommendation comes as the Government accepted in principle all 22 recommendations of a major Parliamentary inquiry into stillbirth.
The inquiry, established last year, examined best practice education and awareness programs, models of care during pregnancy, support for parents after stillbirth, and training for healthcare professionals. It received 79 submissions and heard testimony from 49 witnesses, including RACGP SA.
Key recommendations from the Select Committee into Stillbirth include:
Introducing the ‘purple butterfly’ program—a symbol of pregnancy after loss—into hospital records to aid healthcare professionals.
Establishing a suite at Adelaide’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital for parents delivering stillborn babies.
Distributing preventive materials for expectant parents, including resources tailored for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and culturally and linguistically diverse families.
Enhancing education and training for healthcare professionals to provide improved support to parents following pregnancy loss and in subsequent pregnancies.
SA MP Olivia Savvas, who lost her brother Benjamin to stillbirth 25 years ago, established the committee and said the Government’s steps will improve support for families.
In 2022, stillbirth accounted for 77% of Australia’s 3,076 neonatal deaths, affecting more than eight in every 1,000 births.
RACGP SA Chair Dr Siân Goodson and Dr Jenni Goold, lead medical advisor for the SA GP Obstetric Shared Care Program, highlighted GPs’ integral role across all phases of antenatal and postnatal care. RACGP recommended:
Improving access to support to allow GPs to provide accessible antenatal care and continuity of care.
Developing innovative solutions to integrate GPs into all models of care.
Exploring funding to remunerate GPs for training or upskilling in perinatal mental health and bereavement support.
Dr Goodson noted that funding is critical, as GPs lose income while undertaking training. She emphasised that shared care, endorsed under CASaND guidelines, ensures comprehensive, interdisciplinary support for families affected by stillbirth.
In response to the inquiry, the SA Government announced $850,000 in additional funding to the Red Tree Foundation to provide specialist counselling, including telehealth for rural and regional families.
Dr Goodson said more GPs would participate in the Shared Care Program if funding increased, benefiting both practitioners and patients.
Source: RACGP, SA Parliament, Red Tree Foundation
