about WiSSP
Catherine A. Reiser, M.S.

Stillbirth Awareness Brochures Available Soon.
In our last issue of WiSSPers, we told you about the recent award to WiSSP from the Perinatal Foundation to develop two fact based brochures about stillbirth. As of this writing the brochures are at the printer and should be ready for distribution early this fall — well ahead of our projected date. (Maybe that’s why this newsletter is so late!) The brochures, ‘Helping When the Least Expected Happens’ and ‘When Your Baby is Stillborn’, are meant not to replace bereavement materials you already provide to parents and families, but rather, being fact-based, to fill a gap in currently available materials.

Initially, the brochures will be sent to all stillbirth contacts at WiSSP participating hospitals, perinatal centers, Wisconsin practicing physicians in relevant specialties, Wisconsin childbirth educators, support groups, and others. Brochures will continue to be available through the WiSSP office.

Website.
Another recently funded project from the Perinatal Foundation is the WiSSP Website. As any of you who have been involved in such a production know — it is a monumental undertaking. The Website, like the brochures, is fact-oriented, and while providing a resource for bereavement materials for parents and professionals, its primary focus is as a source of accurate factual information about intrauterine death. It, too, is ahead of schedule, and should be up and running by early fall — with a target date of September 1, 1997.

In This Issue.
In this issue’s ‘In Depth’ segment Dr. Pauli writes about what is known and not known concerning bacterial infections in stillborn infants.

Our guest article(s) describe two important resources for you, the caregivers, and the families you serve — SHARE and Bereavements Services/RTS. We are happy to introduce you to the directors of these programs in ‘Personal Portraits’, respectively Cathi Lammert and Fran Rybarik.