Pregnancy Loss: For Researchers and Health Care Providers

• Fertility and Infertility (FI) Branch: The RS Branch of the NICHD encourages, enables, and supports scientific research aimed at alleviating human infertility, uncovering new contraceptive leads, and expanding fundamental knowledge of processes that underlie human reproduction. It provides funds for basic, clinical, and translational studies that will enhance our understanding of normal reproduction and reproductive pathophysiology, as well as enable the development of more effective strategies for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of conditions that compromise reproductive health, with the ultimate goal of promoting a better quality of life for all individuals.
• Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research: Links and summaries of research on pregnancy loss conducted by the NICHD's Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research are listed here
• Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN): The SCRN examines the etiology and epidemiology of stillbirth through funding by the NICHD's Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch, which seeks to understand the causes of stillbirth, improve stillbirth reporting, and develop preventive interventions for the condition.
• Prenatal Alcohol and SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network: The PASS Network is a partnership between the NICHD's Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. It is designed to conduct community-linked studies to investigate the role of prenatal alcohol exposure in the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as stillbirth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), and how they may be interrelated. It is hoped that this knowledge will help women, families, health care providers, and scientists find ways to improve pregnancy outcomes and infant health.
• Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch: The PP Branch of the NICHD seeks to improve the health of mothers and children by focusing on maternal health, pregnancy, fetal well-being, labor and delivery, and the developing child through research to determine the basic mechanisms of normal and disease processes; identify new treatments, methodologies, and preventative strategies; assess dissemination and impact of therapeutic and preventative interventions; and increase scientific resources through recruitment and training of investigators.
• Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA): PLIDA supports health care practitioners and parent-advocates in their efforts to improve care for families who experience a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death of an infant.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): ACOG provides various sources of information about pregnancy and pregnancy loss as well as information for practicing obstetricians and gynecologists.
• International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA): The ISA promotes and supports high-quality stillbirth research and the development of evidence-based strategies for stillbirth prevention and care worldwide.
• Role of Chlamydia trachomatis in Miscarriage: This study, presented in the CDC's journal Emerging Infectious Disease, explores the role of C. trachomatis infection in miscarriage.
• Bereavement Resources for Healthcare Professionals, National SUID/SIDS Resource Center: The National SUID/SIDS Resource Center provides bereavement resources for health care professionals.

Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from the NICHD, NIH, or HHS.