How often do stillbirths occur

What is Stillbirth? | CDC

The loss of a baby due to stillbirth remains a sad reality for many families and takes a serious toll on families’ health and well-being. Learn more about stillbirth below.

A stillbirth is the death or loss of a baby before or during delivery. Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs. In the United States, a miscarriage is usually defined as loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, and a stillbirth is loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Stillbirth is further classified as either early, late, or term.

An early stillbirth is a fetal death occurring between 20 and 27 completed weeks of pregnancy.
A late stillbirth occurs between 28 and 36 completed pregnancy weeks.
A term stillbirth occurs between 37 or more completed pregnancy weeks.

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How Many Babies Are Stillborn?

Stillbirth affects about 1 in 175 births, and each year about 21,000 babies are stillborn in the United States. ¹ That is about the same as the number of babies that die during the first year of life. Because of advances in medical technology over the last 30 years, prenatal care (medical care during pregnancy) has improved, which has dramatically reduced the number of late and term stillbirths. However, the rate of early stillbirth has remained about the same over time.

What Increases the Risk of Stillbirth?

Stillbirth with an unknown cause is called “unexplained stillbirth.” The further along a woman is in her pregnancy the more likely it is that the stillbirth will be unexplained. Having an autopsy on the baby and other laboratory tests is important in trying to understand why the baby died before birth. Your health care provider can share more information about this.

Stillbirth occurs in families of all races, ethnicities, and income levels, and to women of all ages. However, stillbirth occurs more commonly among certain groups of people including women who:

are of black race
are 35 years of age or older
are of low socioeconomic status
smoke cigarettes during pregnancy
have certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity
have multiple pregnancies such as triplets or quadruplets
have had a previous pregnancy loss

This does not mean that every individual of black race or older age is at higher risk for having a stillbirth. It simply means that overall as a group, more stillbirths occur among all mothers of black race or older age when compared to white mothers and mothers under 35 years of age. Some factors that might contribute to these stillbirth disparities include differences in maternal preconception health, socioeconomic status, access to quality health care, and stress.² More research is needed to determine what is underlying reason why some of these factors are associated with stillbirths.

Many of these factors are also associated with other poor pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth.

What Can Be Done?

CDC works to learn more about who might have a stillbirth and why. CDC does this by tracking how often stillbirth occurs and researching what causes stillbirth and how to prevent it. Knowledge about the potential causes of stillbirth can be used to develop recommendations, policies, and services to help prevent stillbirth. While we continue to learn more about stillbirth, much work remains. To learn more about CDC’s activities, visit the Stillbirth CDC Activities page.

References

Gregory ECW, Valenzuela CP, Hoyert DL. Fetal mortality: United States, 2020. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 71 no 4. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. [Read report]
Pruitt SM, Hoyert DL, Anderson KN, et al. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Fetal Deaths — United States, 2015–2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1277–1282.
MacDorman MF, Kirmeyer SE, Wilson EC. Fetal and perinatal mortality, United States, 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 60 no 8. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012. [Read data brief pdf icon[432 KB / 23 pages]

Stillbirth - NHS

A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy. It happens in around 1 in every 200 births in England.

If the baby dies before 24 completed weeks, it's known as a miscarriage or late foetal loss.

Contact your midwife or doctor straightaway if you're pregnant and worried about your baby – for example, if you've noticed your baby moving less than usual. Don't wait until the next day. If your baby is moving less, it can be a sign that something's wrong and needs to be checked out.

Causes of stillbirth

Some stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta, a birth defect or with the mother's health. For others, no cause is found.

When a baby dies before they're born

If your baby has died, you may be able to wait for labour to start naturally or your labour may be induced. If your health is at risk, the baby may need to be delivered as soon as possible. It's rare for a stillborn baby to be delivered by caesarean section.

Read more about what to expect if your baby dies before birth.

After a stillbirth

After a stillbirth, decisions about what to do are very personal. There's no right or wrong way to respond.

A specialist midwife will talk with you about what you want to do – for example, holding the baby or taking photographs. They can also discuss the tests you may be offered to find out why your baby died and give you information about registering the birth.

Read more about what happens after a stillbirth, including information about baby-loss support groups.

Preventing stillbirths

Not all stillbirths can be prevented, but there are some things you can do to reduce your risk, such as:

not smoking
avoiding alcohol and drugs during pregnancy – these can seriously affect your baby's development, and increase the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth
not going to sleep on your back after 28 weeks – don't worry if you wake up on your back, just turn onto your side before you go back to sleep
attending all your antenatal appointments so that midwives can monitor the growth and wellbeing of your baby
taking folic acid before pregnancy and having a flu vaccine during your pregnancy
limiting the amount of caffeine you consume during pregnancy

Video: Coping with grief after a stillbirth

In this video Lisa and Jason describe how they coped with a stillbirth

Media last reviewed: 16 April 2021
Media review due: 16 April 2024

Page last reviewed: 16 March 2021
Next review due: 16 March 2024

Stillbirth

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Stillbirth associated with prolonged sleep in late pregnancy

American scientists have found that among stillbearing women there is a high percentage of those who slept more than nine hours a day in late pregnancy. Despite the fact that the authors of the work do not draw conclusions about the dangerous effect of prolonged sleep on fetal survival, they suggest that this relationship may be due to the fact that sleep is characterized by minimal blood pressure, which can adversely affect the course of pregnancy. Article published in journal Birth .

The stillbirth rate in late pregnancy (28 weeks and beyond) is approximately 2.3 percent in developed countries. Among the factors influencing the birth of a stillborn, there are various medical conditions (in particular, preeclampsia - a form of late toxicosis of pregnant women, characterized by high blood pressure), smoking, obesity and the late age of the mother.

In a new study, scientists led by Louise O'Brien of the University of Michigan Medical Department set out to investigate the relationship between women's sleep hygiene in late pregnancy and the likelihood of further stillbirth. The study was conducted in the form of an Internet survey: 633 women took part in it, who provided information on age, socioeconomic status, medical conditions, bad habits, body mass index and other indicators. The researchers also asked women in detail about their sleep hygiene: how much they sleep, how often they wake up at night, and in what position they sleep. nine0281

Of all the women who answered the question, 153 had a stillbirth at 28 weeks' gestation or later, and 480 had a live birth or were still pregnant at the time of the interview.

Researchers found that women who reported a stillbirth were 63 percent more likely to report more than 9 hours of sleep in their last month of pregnancy, and were less likely to wake up in the middle of the night.