Committees: Bereaved Parent Advocacy Committee
Rachel Bailey
Rachel is a bereaved mother to Tommy, who died unexpectedly at 41 weeks from a true knot and tight cord wrapping. Since then, Rachel has also experienced unexplained secondary infertility requiring IVF, a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy. Rachel’s lived experience drives her passion to change the narrative of infertility, pregnancy loss and stillbirth, by…
Sophie Hickingbotham
Sophie has been involved in the work of the Stillbirth CRE and her state-wide tertiary hospital as a bereaved parent representative following the neonatal death of her son in 2022. Her willingness to be involved in research, advocacy and practice change comes from the intersections of her lived experience of early infant loss, a mother…
Till Heike
After the death of her daughter Claudia in 2014, Till retrained to be able to provide support and care to others who have experienced child death – Predominately working with Red Nose. As an author, she has published a book of poetry, “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea” and “The Dovekeeper & the…
Kelly Merchant
Kelly is a mum of 3 children….two that walk with her hand in hand and one that lives in her heart. In 2004, Kelly experienced the exhilaration of bringing a son into this world. In 2007 her life was devastated with the news her daughter was unable to be revived at birth and in 2008…
Emma Porter
Emma Porter completed her a Bachelor of Nursing in 2009 through CQ University, in 2011 she was awarded a scholarship to excel her studies in completing a post graduate Diploma in Midwifery through James Cook University. In more recent years Emma obtained accreditation in a Diploma of Counselling (2019), a certification that is utilised daily…
Kirstin Tindal
Kirstin Tindal is a PhD Candidate at the Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. Her research centers around the factors associated with preterm stillbirth, with a particular focus on how the endometrial environment contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BSc (Genetics) and completed a…
Siobhan Loughnan
Siobhan is an early career researcher and co-leads the Care Around Stillbirth and Neonatal Death program. Siobhan joined the Stillbirth CRE in 2019 and has a background in perinatal loss, perinatal psychology, digital interventions for mental health and wellbeing, and psychosocial cancer care. Siobhan currently leads a range of projects including the technical working group…
Christine Andrews
Dr Christine Andrews is an early career researcher and co-leads the Implementing Stillbirth Prevention Strategies and Consumer Engagement research programs. Christine joined the Stillbirth CRE in 2018 and has a background in in paediatric burn injury prevention, completing her PhD in 2018 through the University of Queensland. Christine is a perinatal implementation science researcher. Her…
Valerie Ah Chee
Valerie is a proud Bindjareb woman from the Nyoongar Nation in the South West of Western Australia with family connections to the Palkyu people of the Pilbara, a mother of six and grandmother of five beautiful grandchildren with another soon. Through her husband, Valerie’s children also identify as Nyikina and Yawaru from the Kimberley. Valerie…
Vicki Flenady
Professor Vicki Flenady leads the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence which aims to reduce stillbirths and improve care for families when a child is stillborn through high quality research and raising community awareness. Vicki was lead author on The Lancet’s stillbirth series in 2011 and 2016. Vicki’s research…
