Stillbirth Symposium 2025: Closing the Gaps
We provide respectful, compassionate care for families who experience the tragedy of stillbirth. Join us in the fight to end preventable stillbirths.
Stillbirth Symposium 2025: Closing the Gaps
We provide respectful, compassionate care for families who experience the tragedy of stillbirth. Join us in the fight to end preventable stillbirths.
Moving Toward A Stillbirth Bereavement Care Pathway for the USA with Quality and Equity
Friday October 10, 2025
Location: Health Sciences Education Building 1750
This year’s event is geared particularly toward parents, parent support organizations, and bereavement care providers, but all who are interested in equitable stillbirth prevention and care are welcome! Please email stillbirthcenter@hsc.utah.edu for any questions.
Stillbirth Symposium 2025 Recording
Thank you Robert Yang for being our wonderful videographer!
Symposium Sponsors
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the generous sponsors who have made this gathering possible. Your support helps create a space of remembrance, healing, and advancement in bereavement care.
A special thank you to The Mower Family and the Stettler Family.
To all our sponsors — your contributions are acts of care and love — and we are deeply grateful.
Agenda
| 7:45 - 8:30 am | REGISTRATION (coffee/tea) |
| 8:30 - 8:45 am | Welcome |
| 8:45 - 9:30 am |
Introductions: What is your Why? Stacey Fletcher, Facilitator |
| 9:30 - 9:45 am |
Why Stillbirth Matters for Health Equity Susannah Leisher PhD, Speaker |
| 9:45 - 10:15 am |
Impact on Parents and the Need for Equitable Bereavement Care Stacey Fletcher, Speaker |
| 10:15 - 10:30 am | BREAK |
| 10:30 - 11:15 am |
Keynote: Why Health Inequities Continue in America Dr. Richard Ferguson, Keynote Speaker |
| 11:15 am - 12:00 pm |
Introducing Some Tools for Equitable Bereavement Care Sunayna Wahi, Naomi Riches PhD, & Melannie Green, Speakers |
| 12:00 - 12:30 pm |
Case study of successful stillbirth prevention research and links to health equity and bereavement care Dr. Ware Branch, Speaker |
| 12:30 - 1:15 pm | LUNCH |
| 1:15 - 2:00 pm |
Keynote: Unacknowledged Grief: Closing the Gaps in Stillbirth Bereavement Care Dr. Kathleen Massmann, Keynote Speaker |
| 2:00 - 2:20 pm |
Introducing the ACOG Toolkit for Stillbirth Bereavement Care Dr. Michael Belmonte & Sheila Reynoso |
| 2:20 - 2:50 pm |
Overview of Global Bereavement Care Pathways Susannah Leisher, Keelin O'Donoghue, Siobhan Loughnan, & Vicki FLenady |
| 2:50 - 3:30 pm |
Small group work: Needs and Gaps, Resources and Strengths Susannah Leisher PhD, Facilitator |
| 3:30 - 3:45 pm | BREAK |
| 3:45 - 4:30 pm |
Reporting back: Next Steps Toward Equitable Bereavement Care for Stillbirth
|
| 4:30 - 4:50 pm |
Annual Award and Closing Words
|
| 4:50 - 5:00 pm |
Closing the Gaps: Moments of Reflection Stacey Fletcher, Facilitator; & Hayley Fletcher, Singer |
| 5:00 - 5:30 pm | Networking and Meet and Greet |
| 5:30 - 6:00 pm |
Mini-Workshop: Bereavement/Saline Photography Ashley Hone and Shirley Hale, Instructors |
| 6:00 - 6:30 pm |
Mini-Workshop: Molds for Hand, Feet, Face Melannie Green and Jaymie Maines, Instructors |
| 6:30 - 7:00 pm |
Mini-Retreat: Self-Care and Mindfulness Sound Bath for Providers and Volunteers Stacey Fletcher and Shirley Hale, Leads |
SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
Bob Silver
Robert M. Silver, MD is Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Utah Health and a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He joined the University of Utah Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division after completing his fellowship there in 1994. He is serving as the Chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and as Co-Director of Labor and Delivery at the UUHSC. Dr. Silver’s clinical and research interests include recurrent pregnancy loss and stillbirth, cesarean delivery, placenta accreta, vaginal birth after cesarean delivery, immunologic diseases in pregnancy, and medical disorders in pregnancy.
Susannah Leisher
Susannah (Zan) Hopkins Leisher is a stillbirth epidemiologist and parent to Wilder Daniel, stillborn at 38½ weeks on July 13, 1999, with no cause found. Her stillbirth research interests include structural racism and epigenetic mechanisms of effect. Dr Leisher is working to launch the first Stillbirth Center of Excellence in the United States. She is an honorary research fellow of the Stillbirth Centre for Research Excellence at the University of Queensland, Australia; ex-officio chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance; co-chair of the Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group; and a member of the Steering Committee of AlignMNH, the MFMU Network’s Community Engagement Board, and the WHO/UNICEF’s Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere Management Team. Prior to becoming an epidemiologist, Dr Leisher was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and then spent over 20 years working on global poverty and social justice in Asia, Africa and Central America, including ten years in Vietnam.
Stacey Fletcher
Stacey Fletcher is the Program Manager for Parent Voice at the Utah Stillbirth Center of Excellence (USCOE). As a clinical trainer and peer support specialist for the Utah Pregnancy After Loss (UPAL) Program, Stacey’s position ensures that parent experience plays a key role in developing excellent physical and mental health care. She is honored to share her lived experience of deep grief and also extensive rebuilding following the stillbirth of her son Benjamin 18 years ago. Stacey advocates for and participates in stillbirth research, equitable bereavement care, and community awareness. She has presented her perspective nationally and globally, promoting the important role of parents in stillbirth prevention and sensitive clinical care. She has spent many tender hours with families in hospital rooms, mortuaries, and homes. She is a storyteller. She has worked professionally as a writer, editor, educator, and publisher and is passionate about giving voice to others. Stacey and her husband Bryan are the parents of five living children. Together their family advocates against the racism and disparities often found in underserved and marginalized communities.
Sunayna Wahi
Sunayna Wahi MS, MBA, OLY is a Research Manager in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Utah Health and works in partnership to support the equity core of the Utah Stillbirth Center of Excellence. She is also the manager of the Culture, Resilience, and Community Health Partnership departmental committee. Her interests lie in representing health disparities through the use of geospatial tools, working towards culturally competent and community-supported decision-making processes that actively involve members of the community, and through an approach that centers on implementing solution-driven methods, identifying the barriers faced by people of color in women's and maternal health which significantly contribute to healthcare inequities.
Richard Ferguson
Dr. Richard Ferguson grew up in Washington D.C. and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois earning a degree in Genetics. He then went to medical school at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He is board certified in Family Medicine from the University of Utah and has practiced Emergency Medicine in critical access facilities throughout our nation. He completed his MBA at the Eccles School of Business in 2020. He has served in the U.S. Army as a Battalion and Brigade Surgeon for 7 years in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. Dr. Ferguson has commented on the fact that “one of the most impactful times of my life as a physician was in care for my soldiers and their families abroad”. In 2021, Dr. Ferguson established the Black Physicians of Utah to improve health care outcomes for Black and underrepresented Utahns by increasing the number of Black physicians in the State and through multiple health education initiatives. He most recently helped to launch BPOU’s Mental Health Advocacy branch, named MWA (Mental Wellness Alliance), focused on informing and addressing the mental health needs of the Black Utahns. Currently, he works as the Chief Medical Officer for Health Choice Utah and Interim CMO for University of Utah Health Plans. In his spare time, Dr. Ferguson has completed over 43 triathlons and enjoys watching football with family and friends.
Naomi Riches
Naomi O. Riches is a Research Assistant Professor in the University of Utah Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of its Stillbirth Research Program and placenta insufficiency working group. Her research is centered around identifying and addressing the needs of stillbirth parents concerning their postmortem decision. Outside of her qualitative research interests on shared decision-making, Dr. Riches has experience in informatics, exposure science, and social determinants of health research. She received her Doctorate in Occupational and Environmental Health and completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Riches is an active member of the Center of Excellence in Exposure Health Informatics (CEEHI) and the NIH National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Social Determinants of Health working group. Additionally, she is examining the impact of air pollution, climate change, and social determinants of health on adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as stillbirth.
Ware Branch
Dr. Ware Branch has a passion for helping those who face complex pregnancy challenges and cares for his patients experiencing high-risk pregnancies. As a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, Dr. Branch specializes in managing various conditions, including recurrent miscarriage, genetics and fetal diagnosis, placenta accreta, and stillbirth. He is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for his patients and is here to support you and your family every step of the way through your pregnancy journey.
Kathleen Massmann
Dr. Kathleen Massmann holds a Ph.D. in Advanced Studies in Human Behavior, with a specialized research focus on Stillbirth and Posttraumatic Growth. She also earned a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Capella University. Her journey into the field of bereavement care is deeply personal—after the unexplained loss of her son, Jacob, in 2011, Dr. Massmann became a passionate advocate for providing competent and compassionate support to families who have experienced the heartbreaking loss of a child. With over 15 years of experience in the specialized fields of pregnancy and infant loss, Dr. Massmann’s expertise centers on grief, bereavement, and navigating pregnancy after loss. She is a certified Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider through the MISS Foundation, a certified Stillbirthday Doula, and a Certified Perinatal Loss Provider. Dr. Massmann is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with a focus on pregnancy and infant loss, as well as grief support for families experiencing the profound pain of losing a child. As the founder and CEO of Healing Moments Counseling in Monticello, MN, she offers specialized counseling services to support families through their grief. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Massmann is an international speaker and consultant, sharing her expertise on grief, stillbirth, and pregnancy loss. She is also the owner and CEO of Psyche Consulting, a consulting firm that provides training and education to community organizations, mental health professionals, and medical providers across the country.
Michael Belmonte
Dr. Michael A. Belmonte is a Complex Family Planning subspecialist and an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State University. He grew up in Chicago and completed his Bachelor of Science in Human Communication Sciences & Disorders and Psychology at Northwestern University. He then received his medical training at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Illinois. He went on to Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Indiana University, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He then completed his subspecialty fellowship training in Complex Family Planning at the University of Colorado, focusing on contraceptive and abortion care. In his career, he has worked with the World Health Organization and as the Darney-Landy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, a prestigious advocacy position as the national spokesperson for Family Planning. Most recently, he is the obstetric lead for the Penn State Pregnancy After Loss Clinic.
Sheila Reynoso
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Paterson, NJ, Sheila is a dedicated public health advocate for historically marginalized communities. With an MPH in Community Health Education, she brings a wealth of experience from diverse projects, including graduate medical education and initiatives focused on linkage to care and care coordination for individuals with substance use disorders, a history of incarceration, and chronic conditions like HIV and Hepatitis C. At the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG), Sheila manages the Immunization, Infectious Disease, and Public Health Preparedness program, driving initiatives to increase education among healthcare professionals and patients.
Keelin O'Donoghue, Pregnancy Loss Research Group
Professor Keelin O'Donoghue and the Pregnancy Loss Research Group at the University College Cork are national researchers working to understand pregnancy loss experiences and impacts. They have developed evidence-based advice, resources, and interventions to improve healthcare quality and social outcomes for families.
Siobhan Loughnan
Siobhan is a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Lead of the Care Around Stillbirth and Neonatal Death program at the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth in Brisbane Australia. She is a registered provisional psychologist and her work spans clinical guideline development, education, global collaborations, and digital resources to support both bereaved parents and the healthcare professionals who care for them.
Vicki Flenady
Professor Flenady is co-director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth at Mater Research, University of Queensland, Australia, and is a nationally and internationally recognized perinatal epidemiologist. She is well-known for her expertise in Cochrane systematic reviews, clinical trials and the development and implementation of high-quality clinical practice guidelines. With a background in midwifery and neonatal nursing, clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, her research is now devoted to stillbirth prevention through improving identification and care for women with risk factors and improving data quality to drive change. Prof Flenady also has a major interest in improving care for parents whose child is stillborn, including in a subsequent pregnancy. She is a past chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance, and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her research into stillbirth in 2024.
Melannie Green
Melannie Green has a decades-long history as an active volunteer within the Utah community. As the mother of seven children, she has been given countless opportunities to serve others at her children’s schools, local churches and businesses as well as with many notable organizations such as (1) President/Chair(s)/Volunteer with Share Parents of Utah, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support, since 2013, (2) Executive Board Member with Utah’s Festival of Trees, (3) Contributor, CDC/DHHS, SOARS-Study of Associated Risks of Stillbirth, and (4) International Stillbirth Alliance Conference Planning Committee, Utah. #weWILLlivelifetotheMAX
Jaymie Maines
Jaymie Maines has dedicated her service to strengthening Utah communities through advocacy, outreach, and research in the child loss community. After experiencing the loss of her son James to full-term stillbirth in 2009, she committed herself to honoring the lives of babies gone too soon and supporting families walking a similar path. Her personal journey fuels her work in stillbirth research and awareness, where she strives to advance prevention while fostering compassion and connection. Through her efforts, she honors James’ memory and works to ensure that no family grieves alone.
Ashley Hone
Ashley is a passionate advocate for those navigating grief. As a devoted parent of four, three living, she turned a personal tragedy—the loss of a child, Kingston Ryan Hone—into a mission to support others experiencing similar pain. Currently, she works at four local hospitals providing bereavement support, helping families find hope and healing after loss. Through her work, Ashley fosters resilience and connection within the community, dedicated to guiding others on their journey toward healing.
Shirley Hale
Shirley Hale is a “Jill” of all trades. She is a mother to five living children and two in heaven, Annie and Tanner. After losing her second baby, she became more involved in the loss community and started working in bereavement care at four hospitals in Utah County, putting her hobby photographer skills to use. She loves to capture the beauty in each baby and provide pictures that families will love to look at and cherish. She also provides hand molds to local mortuaries in need for all ages. In addition to her work in bereavement care, she facilitates mindfulness classes and is a certified sound healer. She loves to bring peace and love to those in need. She is so happy to be here and share what she has learned in bereavement care with others.
Hayley Fletcher
Singer