STILLBIRTH FACTS + FIGURES
The numbers are bad. Really bad.
Let us prepare you: the numbers and figures you're about to see are shocking. The situation is dire. Babies are dying, thousands of them, completely needlessly. As a country, we should be very, very ashamed.
​
The good news is that we can change this.
​
Check out the Empowered Pregnancy page for our MUST HAVE tips for an empowered pregnancy - the things we wish someone had told us before we had a stillbirth, the things that might have kept our babies safe.
Not every stillbirth is preventable. But many are. And every mother deserves to know she and her provider did everything possible to try.
Jump to:
Click to view larger, en español or download a PDF
Sources: CDC Wonder | Harper (2003) | Schoendorf (1992) | Page (2018) | US Census
Stillbirth:
The Silent Crisis
The problem begins with awareness.
Click to view larger, en español or download a PDF
Stillbirth
by the Numbers
Let's be real: these numbers are not good.
Sources: CDC Wonder Fetal Deaths | CDC Wonder Natality
Source: CDC Wonder Fetal Deaths
Sources: CDC Wonder Fetal Deaths | NCES
Sources: CDC Wonder Fetal Deaths | CDC Wonder Natality
Important Note: Many assume that racial disparities in birth outcomes are due to socioeconomic factors resulting in a lack of resources or access to care. While that may be true in some pregnancies, research shows that even after controlling for factors such as income, education, access to prenatal care, hypertension, and maternal/fetal age, race is still a major factor. Evidence has also shown that Black infants are less likely to die when cared for by Black doctors.
​
Taken together, these findings imply that - whether through implicit bias in medical practitioners, institutionalized racism in the healthcare system, physical weathering effects on the health of mothers whose lives are affected daily by structural racism society, or some combination of the above - racism has a direct impact on pregnancy outcomes for Black mothers. It can reasonably be inferred that this includes stillbirth.
Is Stillbirth Preventable?
Other countries have shown that it absolutely is, if we care enough to try.
Source: Page (2018)
Source: Page (2018)
Source: UNICEF (2020)
Source: Flenady (2016)
Source: Flenady (2016)
Important Note: The US's abysmal performance in reducing stillbirth compared to our international peers is real. It's tempting to assume that other countries are reducing stillbirth rates faster than us because they have more room to improve - but that is not true.
​
The chart above shows the US's Average Rate of Reduction (ARR) in Stillbirth when compared only to countries who started with stillbirth rates that were the same or better than the US. If they can improve their rates, we can too!
