Flourish Lab

06/04/2026

A new article in Medscape looks at rising maternal mortality in Canada and the urgent need for better national data, surveillance and learning.

The piece features Rohan D’Souza, and highlights the Canadian Obstetric Survey System (CanOSS), a nationwide collaboration working to capture pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality data.

Without a robust national surveillance system and confidential reporting, it’s impossible to know where Canada stands on maternal mortality.

05/15/2026

Earlier this month, Rohan D’Souza represented the Canadian Obstetric Survey System (CanOSS) at the Global Pre-eclampsia Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP).

The Summit brought together 140 international delegates, including representatives from 26 national ministries of health, to focus on one of the most serious complications in maternal and newborn health.

For CanOSS, it was a chance to bring Canadian surveillance work into a global conversation on severe pregnancy complications, while learning from countries and partners working in very different health-system contexts.

Rohan D’Souza was one of 140 international delegates invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) to take part in the Global Pre-eclampsia Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, from 5 to 8 May 2026, where he represented the Canadian Obstetric Survey System (CanOSS)...

05/08/2026

McMaster University’s first-year MSc Global Health students recently joined Rohan D’Souza for a field visit that brought their work on sexual and reproductive health into a clinical setting.

The morning focused on maternal-fetal medicine, maternity care, and the decisions that shape care when pregnancy becomes complex. Students moved from the ideas they had been studying in class to the practical realities of how services are organized, how patients move through the system, and how clinical decisions are made with patients and families.

The visit reflects a simple but important part of FLOURISH’s work. Better pregnancy and postpartum care depends not only on strong research, but on how that knowledge is taught, shared, and carried into practice.

A recent field visit led by Rohan D’Souza gave McMaster’s first-year MSc Global Health students a closer look at how maternal-fetal medicine and maternity care are delivered in a tertiary-care setting.

04/14/2026

We are pleased to share that our Scientific Director, Rohan D’Souza, has been appointed Vice Chair of the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board.

It is a role rooted in the standard of research at its earliest stage, before findings are published and before work reaches participants, clinics, or care pathways. For someone whose research has been shaped not only by maternal health outcomes, but by how evidence is produced and applied in practice, the appointment feels entirely fitting.

Congratulations, Rohan.

Rohan D’Souza has been appointed Vice Chair of the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (HiREB), effective April 1, 2026.

04/08/2026

In this CMAJ podcast episode, Giulia Muraca explains why it is so important to look beyond labour and delivery when tracking severe maternal morbidity. As she notes, maternity care does not begin and end in the delivery room.

When the measurement window was extended to include pregnancy and the first six weeks postpartum, the rate of severe maternal morbidity rose from 1.7 per cent to 2.7 per cent. In the study, 16 per cent of events occurred during pregnancy, 55 per cent during labour and delivery, and 29 per cent postpartum.

Giulia also identifies obstetric sepsis as one of the most important findings. In the podcast, she notes that previous estimates were about one per thousand. Including the six weeks postpartum raised that to six per thousand, with most cases occurring in the first week following delivery.

She also speaks about the importance of doing this work in partnership with people who have experienced these pregnancy complications themselves, and how their insights helped shape the research questions, interpret the findings, and inform thinking about solutions.

Listen here:

Dr. Blair Bigham: Jola, we are talking about a very specific population of people today, one that is top of mind and maybe a little bit scary for clinicians because nobody ever wants anything to go wrong when you're taking care of someone who is labouring.

03/05/2026

International Women’s Day can hold two truths at once. Real progress, and a clear reminder that women and girls still face barriers built into systems, services, and everyday life.

McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences brought together 10 health experts to share one essential insight every woman should know. Practical guidance that helps people recognize what matters, ask better questions, and advocate for the care they deserve.

Rohan D'Souza is featured in the video speaking to one of the most vulnerable and high-stakes moments in a person’s life, pregnancy. Complications may be rising, but pregnancy and childbirth can still be the safest time in a person’s life because screening, diagnosis, and treatment have advanced so much. His message is steady. Tune out the misinformation, and lean on trusted, evidence-based advice from midwives, family doctors, and obstetricians.

Celebrated annually on March 8, International Women’s Day is a time to recognize the progress made in advancing the rights and freedoms of all women and girl...

09/03/2025

How do we reimagine support in the first year after pregnancy?

That question is at the heart of Hey Aunty!, a digital platform being developed by McMaster graduate student Vedha Viyas Thilagarajan under the supervision of Rohan D’Souza.

Supported by a Mitacs Business Strategy Internship and the Lab2Market Validate program, Hey Aunty! combines research, lived experience, and AI technology to provide families with trusted guidance, culturally relevant resources, and timely mental health support during the first year after childbirth, miscarriage, or pregnancy termination.

The next phase will see families and health-system partners shaping features through interviews and co-design workshops - ensuring the platform reflects real needs and priorities.

Learn more:

For many families in Canada, post-pregnancy care is limited to a single check-up six weeks after birth. It is a brief encounter in a year that brings lasting physical, emotional, and social change. With little structured support beyond that appointment, people often turn to relatives or the internet...

05/27/2025

How should a health system respond when things go wrong?

Pregnancy care in Canada is designed around what usually happens. But it is the rare, serious complication - the near-miss, the system fracture - that reveals whether care is truly working.

Earlier this month, over 50 clinicians, researchers, advocates, and health leaders came together in Hamilton for the CanOSS-Ontario Design Meeting - a milestone in the development of a provincial learning system for serious pregnancy complications.

At the heart of that conversation was CanOSS - the Canadian Obstetric Survey System. CanOSS is not a research project or a data repository. It is a national quality improvement initiative built to answer the question too often left unasked: why?

Why this patient, in this setting, under these circumstances? Why did the system fail to prevent harm - and what must change to prevent it in future?

The discussions were rigorous and honest - about design, about ethics, and about how to return learning to systems in ways that improve care. The outcome? More than a plan. Momentum.

As severe complications rise - and as inequities persist - this work could not be more urgent. CanOSS offers a path forward: a mechanism to help health systems reflect, respond, and reform.

This is not just a public health priority. It is a duty of care.

Read more here: https://shorturl.at/4b09e

05/13/2025

A core outcome set for vasa previa research.

A recent study from the Obstetrics Research and Outcomes Study (OROS) group, published in JAMA Network Open, introduces the first international core outcome set and reporting checklist for vasa previa - a rare but serious pregnancy complication.

Led by first author Tiffany Yeretsian and senior author Rohan D’Souza, the study draws on input from 115 individuals with lived experience and 89 pregnancy care providers across 27 countries. It addresses long-standing inconsistencies in how outcomes are selected and reported, which have made it difficult to build clear, evidence-based clinical guidance.

By establishing a shared framework for future studies, this work will improve the reliability of research and ensure that outcomes important to patients and families shape clinical progress.

|

A new study from the Obstetrics Research and Outcomes Study (OROS) group, published in JAMA Network Open, marks a key step in maternal-fetal medicine research. The study introduces a standardized ‘core outcome set’ and reporting checklist for research on vasa previa – a rare but serious pregna...

04/30/2025

Rohan D’Souza has been recognised with a Mid-Career Research Award at the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact’s 2025 Research Day.

His work continues to ask precise, necessary questions about maternal health - how evidence is shaped, whose experiences are centred, and what must shift to build systems that are more responsive, inclusive, and grounded in reality. This recognition speaks not to output, but to impact: on policy, on practice, and on the possibilities research can unlock.

On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) hosted its 22nd annual Research Day event at the Ron Joyce Centre. Recognized as the department’s flagship event, Research Day provides a unique opportunity for faculty, staff, learners, and alumni to...