A/Professor Stephanie Brown

contact details

  A/Professor Stephanie Brown
  Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
  Royal Children's Hospital
  Flemington Road
  Parkville Victoria 3052

  T +61 3 9090 5205
  F +61 3 9090 5212
  E stephanie.brown@mcri.edu.au

biography

Stephanie has established an outstanding internationally recognised research program in maternal and perinatal epidemiology at MCRI. Her research on maternal health has been pivotal in drawing international attention to the extent and impact of common maternal physical health problems after childbirth. She is the principal investigator for the Maternal Health Study: a prospective pregnancy cohort study investigating women's psychological and physical health in pregnancy and after the birth of a first child. Her research group is collaborating with the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia to undertake a landmark population-based study of Aboriginal women's views and experiences of health and health care during and after pregnancy. Her research has informed the development of maternity services and policy at state and commonwealth levels and achieved international standing in relation to the development of population-based methods for assessing women's views and experiences of maternity care, and investigation of maternal health after childbirth.

achievements

National Health & Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship - Level 2 (2008-2011)
BMC Award for Excellence in Medicine (2007)
VicHealth Public Health Research Fellowship (2002-2006)
Young Tall Poppy Award (1999)

research focus & interest

Strategies to promote a healthy start to life have been identified as having the greatest potential to reduce health inequalities across the life course. Research focuses on what can be done in pregnancy and the early postnatal period to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes.

Current areas of focus include: social, obstetric and environmental factors affecting women's physical and psychological health during and after pregnancy; health consequences of intimate partner violence; methods for evaluating complex interventions in primary care and community based settings; and strategies for improving Aboriginal maternal and child health outcomes. 

Stephanies research is underpinned by a strong commitment to bringing together stakeholders in research to work collaboratively across all stages of research.  Current projects involve both academic collaborations and collaborations with policy and community based agencies such as the  Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia; SA Health; Women's and Children's Health Network; Country Health SA; and Foundation House - Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture.

publications

Woolhouse H, Gartland G, Hegarty K, Donath S, Brown S. Depressive symptoms and intimate partner violence in the 12 months after childbirth: A prospective pregnancy cohort study. BJOG 2011; in press (accepted October 2011).

Brown SJ, Yelland JS, Sutherland GA, Baghurst PA, Robinson JS. Stressful life events, social health issues and low birthweight in an Australian population-based birth cohort: challenges and opportunities in antenatal care. BMC Public Health 2011;11:196

Brown S, Gartland D, Donath S, MacArthur C. Effects of prolonged second stage, method of birth, timing of caesarean section and other obstetric risk factors on postnatal urinary incontinence: an Australian nulliparous cohort study. BJOG 2011; 118(8):991-1000.

Yelland J, Sutherland G, Brown SJ. Postpartum anxiety, depression and social health: findings from a population-based survey of Australian women. BMC Public Health 2010;10:771.

Brown S, Small R, Argus B, Krastev A, Davis P. Early postnatal discharge from hospital for healthy mothers and term infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009, Issue 2.  Art. No.: CD002958. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002958.

Brown S, McDonald E, Krastev A. Fear of an intimate partner and women's health in pregnancy: results of the Maternal Health Study. Birth 2008; 35293-302.

Hegarty K, Brown S, Gunn J, Forster D, Nagle C, Grant B, Lumley J. Women's views and outcomes of an educational intervention to enhance psychosocial support for women during pregnancy Birth 2007; 34:155-163.