Reducing the number of stillbirths in Australia is the ultimate aim of $7.2 million in new funding the federal government is giving to researchers and educators.
Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the extra money on Tuesday, as an initial response to a parliamentary report on stillbirths.
The landmark found the rate of stillbirths in Australia had not fallen in more than 20 years and was twice as high among Indigenous women.
The report was tabled by Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy, who carried it in a wooden coolamon - a tool traditionally used for carrying food and babies by Indigenous families.
Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy delivered the report in a wooden coolamon, an Indigenous carrier for babies. Source: SBS
"We are carrying deeply the very real stories that impact Australians in this country," Senator McCarthy said.
"We can make a difference with this report".
NSW Labor Senator Kristina Keneally was a driving force behind the bipartisan investigation.
The Labor senator became emotion as she told the story of her own daughter Caroline who was stillborn in 1999.
“I grew angry doing this work... my anger came from frustration, because there are simple steps to take to prevent stillbirth," Senator Keneally said.
Labor Senator Kristina Keneally says there are a simple ways to reduce the number of stillbirths. Source: AAP
"The submissions from researchers and doctors, from nurses and midwives, and pathologists all point to one thing - that there are things we know that we are not telling parents."
The report came out of an eight-month inquiry which aimed to improve education and research around stillbirth in Australia.
The senate committee received 268 submissions and held six public hearings across the country.
It heard stories of women losing their jobs while dealing with the trauma of a stillborn child, as well as six stillborn babies who remained unclaimed in a Katherine hospital mortuary for up to six years.
Liberal Senator Jim Molan also volunteered for the committee. His daughter, Sarah, delivered a stillborn child in 2007.
"The recommendations of this report will spare many Australian parents the unimaginable grief of your baby going to the mortuary instead of the nursery," Senator Molan said.
The key recommendations outlined in the report include further training and education to aid in the prevention of stillbirths, autopsies and thorough investigations into the cause of stillbirths and support for families affected.
A national roundtable will be convened to help bring down the number of stillbirths, which are experienced by about one in every 137 Australian women.
