Count the Kicks: Football teams raise awareness for stillbirth rate

Rhys Dakin went to a normal practice at his American football punting and kicking academy in his home country of Australia. At the end of practice, they were joined by a mother from Iowa, Kate Safris.

Safris spoke that day to the athletes about her organization, Count the Kicks. She talked about how they aim to raise awareness for ways to prevent stillbirth deaths. That made Dakin reflect on his own loss in his family.

“I lost a cousin to pregnancy related issues, so it touched the heart,” said Dakin, now a punter for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Dakin knew he wanted to support the nonprofit once he got to Iowa City to start his collegiate playing days. Raising funds for the program just by starting a fundraising website and punting the ball made perfect sense to Dakin. It also put a little extra meaning into each of his punts during the season.

Count the Kicks started in 2001 when a group of five mothers experienced the loss of their babies to stillbirth. They found each other through connections to friends and family, growing tight as a group as they navigated through their grief. Then they started searching for answers for why it was something they shared.

“Here’s four Des Moines women that all lost stillborn babies within the last year or two and that doesn’t feel very rare,” said Safris, one of the founders of Count the Kicks.

The women found a study from Norway that showed the impact of tracking a baby’s movement in the third trimester. It could reduce the stillbirth rate by a third. This spurred an idea for an app that helps expecting mothers to track their babies’ kicks – Count the Kicks.

“If (the baby) isn’t feeling well, their movements might change. That’s an early warning sign,” said Safris. “Often, when alerting their doctors, the doctors can do more testing and see if it’s something to be concerned about.”

It bridges a gap between expecting mothers and their doctors. Mothers expecting for the first time may not know what is normal for baby movements. This limits communication to doctors about any potential abnormalities that could point out a potential danger to the baby before it’s too late to save them.

The founders needed a way to fund the app and their organization. That’s where former Iowa Hawkeye kicker, Keith Duncan, stepped in.

“I kind of did something from a fundraising standpoint in high school for children’s cancer,” Duncan said. “So, I said, why don’t we replicate that idea and build a brand. That’s how Every Kick Counts was created.”

Every Kick Counts is a fundraiser goes throughout each athlete’s season. It allows donors to pledge a certain amount of money for each field goal kicked or punt landed inside the 20-yard line. Donors can also donate on a one-time deal.

“If I put one inside the ten,” said Dakin. “A fan might see that and be like, oh, I want to support him.”

It creates a fun way to raise money, but it also helps the organization attract attention from expecting fathers. Typically, it would be a difficult demographic to reach.

They’ve seen communities and fanbases rally around these fundraisers.

“We’ve had some high schools print out specific banners. It’s fun to see the community get involved.” said Duncan. “I think it’s why we’ve seen some of the success from high school kids (fundraising).”

When Dakin is on the field getting ready to punt, it’s usually too intense of a scenario for his mind to think about anything other than the task at hand. But each time he swings his leg through the ball, booting the pigskin down the field, it means a little more than just flipping the field for the opposing offense.

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