September 2022

• UPCOMING EVENTS
• RESEARCH CORNER
• FEATURE ARTICLE

RESEARCH PROPOSALS / FUNDING APPLICATIONS

The SOGC receives many requests to support research proposals/funding applications and, in an effort to make this a more manageable process for everyone, we are asking that members requesting support fill out the following form to specify the request. Learn more.

CANADA’S MATERNAL MORTALITY REVIEW COMMITTEE TOOLKIT AND WEBPAGE ARE OFFICIALLY LIVE!

On June 7th 2022, the SOGC launched our Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Mortality Program at the Annual Clinical and Scientific Conference, which is available on our new Prevention of Maternal Mortality in Canada webpage, which you can find HERE.

The Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) Toolkit is the cornerstone of the program, promoting best practices in maternal mortality review. It provides guidance related to gathering resources and tools, support for establishing a review committee and suggests best practices for reviewing cases and providing recommendations toward prevention. The toolkit contains materials that each MMRC can use for advocacy and to raise awareness of the critical role that MMRCs play in eliminating preventable maternal deaths.

The SOGC is working in partnership with in-kind support from The Influence Agency to create an information hub related to maternal mortality – stay tuned!

COVID VACCINATION AND PREGNANCY

A new study published in the British Medical Journal addresses the issue of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and risks of preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) at birth, or stillbirth. Learn more. An infographic is available on the BORN Ontario website.

Key findings:

· In this large Ontario study of over 85,000 births from May 1 to December 31, 2021, there was no evidence that vaccination during pregnancy with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, spontaneous preterm birth, very preterm birth, SGA at birth, or stillbirth.

·  These results—based on more than 43,000 births exposed to at least one dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in utero—did not differ by trimester of vaccination, number of doses received during pregnancy, or type of mRNA vaccine product.  

·   The results of this study provide further evidence for care providers and pregnant people about the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

PERINATAL MENTAL ILLNESS IN CANADA: WHAT DO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS NEED?

Perinatal mental illness is an escalating topic of importance in Canada, and healthcare providers and their patients are asking for guidance and resources. The SOGC has worked in partnership with colleagues from family practice, nursing, midwifery, psychiatry, and psychology to launch a needs assessment for Canadian women’s health care providers focused on perinatal mental illness. The survey was launched at the end of July 2022, and preliminary data (N=210) suggests:

• 72% of the health care providers frequently encounter pregnant/post-partum patients with perinatal mental illness in general;
• The majority of respondents (93%) want to learn more about perinatal mental illness as it relates to prenatal care and post-partum care;
• 78% would like Clinical Practice Guidelines and patient education materials.

More information is required to understand current practices across the professions related to identification, screening, treatment and referral for perinatal mental illness. Click HERE to participate in this survey. Results from this survey will be used to inform the development of targeted education and resource initiatives, including Clinical Practice Guidelines.

CANADIAN MOTHER-CHILD COLLABORATIVE TRAINING PLATFORM (CAMCCO-L) LAUNCH

CAMCCO-L, funded by CIHR, is partnering with Mitacs to announce a funding opportunity for a 1-year complementary training in Perinatal Research including a virtual curriculum, an in-person team meeting in May 2023 during the CPNRN meeting, and an in-person Summer School in Barcelona, Spain in July 2023, leading to a MICYRN/CAMCCO-L certificate.

CAMCCO-L includes more than 40 researchers/professors from the majority of Canadian universities. It targets graduate students, fellows and early career researchers. The program will be given every year (online curriculum, summer school, webinars, on-site internships, etc.). This aims to better prepare early young researchers for careers in academic, pharma, and healthcare decision-making. CAMCCO-L also targets highly qualified personnel, and all activities will be open and free for anyone. 

For more details, click HERE.  

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON MEDICAL STUDENT TRAINING IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY

This summer I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Quebec City as a medical student to attend the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Annual Clinical and Scientific Conference. I recently discovered my passion for obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) back in March of this year while on my core clerkship rotations and this was a fantastic opportunity for me to explore the specialty of OB-GYN beyond our standard curriculum. Read more.