Miscarriage currently affects up to 150,000 families Australia-wide and it is believed to be increasing (evidenced by ever increasing IVF rates and anecdotal research among medical professionals). It must also be noted that all research indicators point to higher miscarriage rates among Aboriginal the Torres Strait Islander families, low-income earners, people of colour, LGBTIQ+ people ...
Early Pregnancy Loss Coalition
Capacity Funding & Strategy Planning weekend to develop 3 – 5 year strategy
GOAL
$28,882
Australia > National / Multi-state > Metro and Regional
09/01/2024 > 09/01/2024
Field of Interest
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
- Women and Girls
Target Population
- Women and girls
- General population
Early Pregnancy Loss Coalition
The Early Pregnancy Loss Coalition is a cross-sector coalition of organisations working across the miscarriage space (including Red Nose, Pink Elephants and Royal Australia College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists RANZCOG). The four key goals of the Coalition are to improve: Care, Communication, Data and Research in the area of early pregnancy loss (miscarriage).
Care – We seek a significant improvement in care for people who experience miscarriage and those who love and support them
Communication – Language and communication used or deployed in this space must be modernised and sensitised to alleviate the compounding of trauma
Data – Australia must collect miscarriage data for the development of fit-for-purpose public health policy, appropriate funding decisions and health services
Research – We are advocating for government funding for care initiatives and miscarriage research (miscarriage research funding to be disseminated by the Medical Research Future Fund, National Health and Medical Research Council or other statutory body)
Project Summary
Miscarriage currently affects up to 150,000 families Australia-wide and it is believed to be increasing (evidenced by ever increasing IVF rates and anecdotal research among medical professionals). It must also be noted that all research indicators point to higher miscarriage rates among Aboriginal the Torres Strait Islander families, low-income earners, people of colour, LGBTIQ+ people and other marginalised demographics.
Miscarriage is a sentinel risk marker for other pregnancy complications like preterm birth and stillbirth, as well as cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism in the birth parent.
Historically in Australia, miscarriage research, support services, education and information have received no dedicated funding. It has been rolled into other areas of care, such as stillbirth, which have taken precedence or priority and miscarriage has fallen by the wayside. This pattern has contributed significant and persistent taboo and isolation, further compounding the grief and pain felt by patients, families, siblings and more.
Project Outcomes
The Early Pregnancy Loss Coalition is a cross-sector representative organisation with 15 constituent members, representing support services, medical research, professional bodies, hospitals and more, as well as an extensive cohort of policy advisors.
Since our founding in 2023, we worked with Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney to hold the country’s first ever national miscarriage roundtable (October 2023). We wrote and made three submissions to public inquiries, all of which have been included or referenced in final recommendations.
We worked in partnership with our members and government on our pre-budget submission and it resulted directly in this year’s Federal Budget including dedicated funding for miscarriage for the first time ever ($9.5 million). It’s a small but ground-breaking package and demonstrates that the Government understands how much work is needed in this area – a portion of the funding will go towards scoping studies and funding is expected to increase in coming years. Our informal partnership with government is expected to continue. We do not seek or receive government funding, because this would put us in competition with our constituent members.
The EPLC is now seeking $28,883.14 in philanthropic funding, comprising $18,883.14 in capacity funding and $10,000 to fund a strategy weekend for the EPLC executive (volunteer) board in September, in order to devise a 3 to 5 year strategy. This would also include a plan for a national priority-setting partnership for medical and psycho-social research, using the framework from the one completed in the UK. This would feed into a national miscarriage strategy for Australia. This planning weekend will take place in Melbourne and bring together all board members (including those interstate) in person for the first time and would fund a facilitator and guest speakers.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $28,883
FUNDING
| Funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Funding Gap (unconfirmed) | $28,883 |
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| EPLC set-up coats and costs to this point | $1,783 |
| ASIC Fees | $600 |
| Software subscriptions & website costs | $1,000 |
| Administration assistant (one day per week) | $15,000 |
| Strategy weekend costs: | |
| Travel | $3,000 |
| Meals | $1,000 |
| Accommodation for 3 interstate board members | $4,000 |
| Facilitator & Speakers | $2,000 |
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