Flourish Lab

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.

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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...

04/25/2025

This morning in Vienna, Rohan D’Souza was named co-recipient of the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Pregnancy and Heart Disease - an international recognition of work that is reshaping how cardiovascular conditions in pregnancy are understood, treated, and prioritised.

D’Souza leads FLOURISH, a research programme based at McMaster University that brings clinical rigour and systemic ambition to maternal health. His work has redefined standards of care and exposed critical gaps in how health systems respond to risk in pregnancy - especially for those facing cardiovascular complications.

He also leads CaNCaM-Preg, a Canada-wide research network recently awarded $5 million to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity through collaborative, data-driven change.

This award does not simply mark a milestone. It affirms a direction - toward research that begins with lived experience, resists complacency, and insists on measurable, lasting impact.

Rohan D’Souza, associate professor in the departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, has been named co-recipient – alongside Katherine Arendt – of the CPP2025 Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Pregnancy and Heart Disease. He wil...

04/23/2025

FLOURISH at CPP 2025: Advancing Research in Maternal Cardiovascular Health

Rohan D’Souza and Rizwana Ashraf will represent the FLOURISH Lab at the 9th International Congress on Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy, taking place in Vienna from 24–27 April.

Through a series of presentations, chaired sessions, and guided posters, their work will address key questions in maternal cardiovascular care - from anticoagulation protocols and outcome standardisation to emerging evidence on risk and recovery.

FLOURISH’s contribution reflects its ongoing commitment to rigorous, practice-oriented research that strengthens care for individuals with heart conditions during and after pregnancy.

Read more here: https://shorturl.at/JifRn.

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Rohan D’Souza and Rizwana Ashraf will represent the FLOURISH Lab at the 9th International Congress on Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy in Vienna from 24 to 27 April 2025. Across several sessions, their work will address some of the most pressing challenges in maternal cardiovascular health – delive...

12/04/2024

20-Year Analysis of temporal trends and causes of maternal mortality following childbirth in Ontario explains about the continued need for vigilance to prevent pregnancy-related hemorrhage and preeclampsia deaths, careful monitoring for signs of infection, and the need for improved documentation of deaths.

To Know more, Please click below👇👇

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1701216324005127

11/29/2024

Emma from did a fantastic poster presentation last week at the Master of Public Health Student-Led Conference at , highlighting the perspectives of influences of maternal morbidity amongst care providers and patients from both low and high-resource settings!!

11/26/2024

Lack of secondary antibiotic RHD prophylaxis, expert and coordinated multidisciplinary care, are some of the key reasons for disparate outcomes of pregnant individuals With Rheumatic HeartDisease. Learn more about this research from below https://www.jacc.org/doi/full/10.1016/j.jacadv.2024.101368

11/22/2024

New Research that focuses on the importance of including patient-important outcomes for the effective management of critically ill pregnant individuals. To read more: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1753495X241290681

10/28/2024

Last Friday, we had a highly productive retreat with our lab members, providing an opportunity to rejuvenate from our usual routines. This gathering facilitated strategic planning for future lab activities and fostered thoughtful discussions

11/23/2023

Have you or a family member in Canada experienced pregnancy with a disability?

We want to hear from you! We are a team of researchers conducting a study to understand experiences of negative pregnancy events.

Join us for an online group discussion or one-on-one interview to share your thoughts about your experience.

Email us or fill out this contact form to learn more: https://obsgynresearch.mcmaster.ca/surveys/?s=WHXKE4CAEHYPJTJ3