Wendy Katherine

Moving Upstream: the Alliance for the Prevention of Preterm Birth and Stillbirth

Presenter: Wendy Katherine RM (Retired), MBA, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto ON

The Alliance for the Prevention of Preterm Birth and Stillbirth is a collaboration between families, hospitals, maternal-child networks and maternal and infant care providers that is spreading a greater understanding of preterm birth and stillbirth and how to prevent them. Parent groups, practice leaders, data and health improvement expert and supporters across the maternal-newborn care system this are poised to participate in an accountable and coordinated collaboration. This presentation will review recent preterm and stillbirth prevention research, strategic steps towards establishing a provincial program, upcoming knowledge mobilization collaborations and opportunities for engagement.  

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the evidence-informed interventions associated with preterm and stillbirth prevention and the time periods in pregnancy when they relate.
• Appraise whether they have opportunities to incorporate preterm birth and stillbirth prevention programs in their practice.
• Discuss and explain ways that preterm and stillbirth prevention programs can be taken up in their clinical setting.

Wendy Katherine is the Co-Lead of an emerging Ontario Alliance to improve maternal and infant health quality through prevention of preterm birth and stillbirth. As Principal Consultant at Phoenix Health Consulting, she is champion of maternal and child health quality projects including the recent OMama Project.   Among Ontario’s first registered midwives, Wendy provided reproductive health care for many years before joining the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to develop health improvement programs and strategies including the Ontario Midwifery Program, the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN), among others.  As an alumnus of the Rotman School of Management, volunteer Board Director at Health Nexus and published author and speaker, she is passionate about evidence-based health care policy and value in publicly funded health systems.