Paula Dillon has been a midwife for 18 years, and currently works at a private obstetric practice in Brisbane. She is a volunteer Parent Supporter for the SANDS/Red Nose 24/7 phone support line, and is a current member of the Perinatal Society of Australia & New Zealand Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Alliance (PSANZ-SANDA). She is also an Executive Volunteer, Qld Representative and member of the Consumer Advisory Board for Still Aware. Previously, Paula was a Sessional Academic at ACU and USC, presenting lectures to student midwives and student paramedics about stillbirth and pregnancy loss and what health professionals can do to help. She has also facilitated perinatal grief and loss workshops for health professionals for CAPERS Bookstore. Paula is a member of the Parent Advisory Committee and the Parent Representative on the ISA Scientific Committee for the International Conference for ISA/ISPID, Brisbane. Sadly, in light of the COVID 19 pandemic, this conference has been postponed until November 2021. Paula is also a facilitator for the Australian & New Zealand Stillbirth Alliance (ANZSA) IMproving Perinatal mortality Review and Outcomes Via Education (IMPROVE) Workshops, which provides education for health care professionals on how to use the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand's (PSANZ) Perinatal Mortality Guidelines. She is a facilitator of the Stations ‘Psychological and Social Aspects of Perinatal Bereavement’, and ‘Obtaining Consent for Perinatal Autopsy’. Her MMid minor thesis looked at care of women with decreased fetal movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. Paula was a member of the working party to update the PSANZ/CRE Stillbirth Guideline for Respectful and Supportive Perinatal Bereavement Care, and is currently in the Stillbirth CRE project team helping develop a parent version of the PSANZ/Stillbirth CRE Clinical Practice Guideline for Respectful and Supportive Perinatal Bereavement Care. In 2018, Paula was a member of the witness panel of the Select Committee on Stillbirth Research & Education inquiry in Brisbane, and she was very excited about the $7.2 million Liberal National Government Commitment to stillbirth research and education programs in Australia. Paula is passionate about perinatal loss education, helping break taboos around stillbirth and miscarriage, and using evidence to guide best practice. Her passion for perinatal loss support and education was promoted originally by her own experience. Her second daughter, Annabelle, was stillborn at 41 weeks in 2005 as a result of a silent massive feto-maternal haemorrhage. Another daughter, Bethany, was stillborn at 17 weeks in 2007, cause unknown.
