# Stillbirth Condition · id `maternal:stillbirth` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `fc5a600ec7387e71` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Pregnancy; Childbirth Browse, care area: The baby before birth ## In plain language The death of a baby in the womb at or after the 20th week of pregnancy. It can happen before or during delivery. In many cases the cause remains unknown. In a large US study that examined stillbirths in detail, a probable cause was found in about six in ten, most often a problem with the pregnancy itself or with the placenta. ## Technical summary Condition of the fetus (recipient fetal), defined in MedlinePlus and by the NIH as fetal death at or after 20 weeks. The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (JAMA 2011) assigned a probable cause in 60.9% of 512 examined stillbirths; obstetric conditions and placental abnormalities were the most common causes. The AFFIRM trial (UK and Ireland, 2014 to 2016) found that a care package for reduced fetal movements did not reduce stillbirth. Burden figures: 1 in 160 US pregnancies (2011 report) and a 2015 worldwide estimate of 2.6 million. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Pregnancies worldwide, stillbirth estimate for 2015 Recipient: Fetal; Population: All pregnancies worldwide, as estimated for 2015 and quoted in the background of the AFFIRM report. This is a statement about an estimate, not a study population.; Care setting: Not applicable; Geography: Worldwide; Life stage: Pregnancy and birth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. ### The AFFIRM trial report states that 2.6 million pregnancies were estimated to have ended in stillbirth in 2015. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Observational - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Fetal; Population: All pregnancies worldwide, as estimated for 2015 and quoted in the background of the AFFIRM report. This is a statement about an estimate, not a study population.; Care setting: Not applicable; Geography: Worldwide; Life stage: Pregnancy and birth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. - Limitations: A background estimate quoted in the abstract of the AFFIRM report without its own source or definition of stillbirth, and it is a 2015 figure. Only the abstract was read. AFFIRM has a published correction that was read; it concerns Table 2 and the stillbirth definition (22 weeks or later) and does not change the primary outcome. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Source problem: a cited source is corrected. Check the sources before relying on this claim. - Sources: 1. Supports: Awareness of fetal movements and care package to reduce fetal mortality (AFFIRM): a stepped wedge, cluster-randomised trial (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, BACKGROUND, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:39Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 006e9645dc5dfc95994f53fb1c3790e59ca744c8b7afde854e6ff8ae3ef43bf3. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 2. Background: Department of Error (Publication, edition PMC Open Access subset article (a published correction), full-text XML from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14.) Locator: Body, paragraph 1, sentence 1, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:48:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 896ddf6ee57b629c2c751e7b5ba4a2a691cc9a32a1aae52f4ebc0af3e773c283. How it applies: Frames the population or setting. Source page. 3. Background: Department of Error (Publication, edition PMC Open Access subset article (a published correction), full-text XML from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14.) Locator: Body, paragraph 1, sentence 1, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:48:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 896ddf6ee57b629c2c751e7b5ba4a2a691cc9a32a1aae52f4ebc0af3e773c283. How it applies: Frames the population or setting. Source page. 4. Background: Department of Error (Publication, edition PMC Open Access subset article (a published correction), full-text XML from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14.) Locator: Body, paragraph 1, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:48:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 896ddf6ee57b629c2c751e7b5ba4a2a691cc9a32a1aae52f4ebc0af3e773c283. How it applies: Frames the population or setting. Source page. ## Context: Pregnancies in the United States, stillbirth rate reported in 2011 Recipient: Fetal; Population: All pregnancies in the United States, as described in the background of a 2011 research report. This is a statement about a rate, not a study population.; Care setting: Not applicable; Geography: United States; Life stage: Pregnancy and birth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. ### A 2011 report from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network says stillbirth affects 1 in 160 pregnancies in the United States, equal to the number of infant deaths each year. It adds that rates are higher than in other developed countries and have stagnated over the past decade, and that there is a significant racial disparity in the rate of stillbirth that is unexplained. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Observational - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Fetal; Population: All pregnancies in the United States, as described in the background of a 2011 research report. This is a statement about a rate, not a study population.; Care setting: Not applicable; Geography: United States; Life stage: Pregnancy and birth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. - Limitations: These are background statements in the abstract of a 2011 report, quoted without their own source, and rates may have changed since. They describe the United States only. Only the abstract was read. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: Causes of death among stillbirths (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, CONTEXT, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:39Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 272e61d932ffe7f3ecf5e267e81a532966ffed45cbdb81ce538e3cf73a176058. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 2. Supports: Causes of death among stillbirths (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, CONTEXT, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:39Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 272e61d932ffe7f3ecf5e267e81a532966ffed45cbdb81ce538e3cf73a176058. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 3. Supports: Causes of death among stillbirths (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, CONTEXT, sentence 3. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:39Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 272e61d932ffe7f3ecf5e267e81a532966ffed45cbdb81ce538e3cf73a176058. How it applies: PubMed abstract. ## Expected and past events Each date is the period its source states, never a guessed day. An expected date is only as good as when it was said, so each names who said it and when. ### Other event: Expected `maternal:ms-enap-2030-global-milestone` - Expected: 2030 - Stated: as of 2014-06-24 by World Health Organization (`maternal:who`) - About: Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) (`maternal:roadmap-every-newborn-action-plan`); Neonatal death, birth to 28 completed days (`maternal:outcome-neonatal-death-28d`) - Jurisdictions: Global - Sources: Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths, snapshot `maternal:who-9789241507448-pdf-2026-10-15` ### Other event: Expected `maternal:ms-enap-2035-global-target` - Expected: 2035 - Stated: as of 2014-06-24 by World Health Organization (`maternal:who`) - About: Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) (`maternal:roadmap-every-newborn-action-plan`); Neonatal death, birth to 28 completed days (`maternal:outcome-neonatal-death-28d`) - Jurisdictions: Global - Sources: Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths, snapshot `maternal:who-9789241507448-pdf-2026-10-15` ## Connected pages - Perinatal deaths are counted separately before and after birth: Neonatal death, birth to 28 completed days (`maternal:outcome-neonatal-death-28d`) - Loss of the fetus in the second half of pregnancy: Fetal development (`maternal:fetal-development`) - Filed under this front: Imaging and monitoring (`maternal:front-imaging-and-monitoring`) - Related to: Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) (`maternal:roadmap-every-newborn-action-plan`) - Investigated in: AFFIRM trial (awareness of fetal movements) (`maternal:affirm-trial`) - Investigated in: Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network causes-of-death study (`maternal:scrn-causes-of-stillbirth`) ## Provenance Content hash: 63d486a7d0503084ad112703b75986a8e5837cb2a7e716aabe9939fb60900921 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14