OVER 20,000 PREGNANCIES IN THE US END IN STILLBIRTH EACH YEAR.
Including healthy, low-risk ones. That's 15x higher than the number of babies who die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and exceeds all other leading causes of infant death combined.
1 IN 4 OF THESE STILLBIRTHS CAN BE PREVENTED.
Due to systemic failures at the federal and local levels, the US ranks 48th out of 49 high-income countries in reducing preventable stillbirth.
BLACK WOMEN ARE TWICE AS LIKELY AS WHITE WOMEN TO EXPERIENCE STILLBIRTH.
This alarming statistic underscores the deep-rooted racial disparities and systemic flaws within the US healthcare system. While other countries have implemented successful stillbirth prevention policies, the US remains static.
of stillbirths in the US would be averted if we matched our best international peers.
75%
Stillbirths in the US go unexplained due to inadequate research and data collection.
1 in 3
of stillbirth mothers are never told by their provider about the importance of fetal movement.
55%
Between 2010 and 2020, the UK reduced stillbirth incidence by 25%, largely due to the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle.
Our international peers have shown us that top-down stillbirth prevention is proven to reduce stillbirth rates.
WE NEED TO DO MORE.
PUSH is leading the call for action to address racial inequities and implement effective stillbirth prevention strategies from the top down.
HOW DO WE END PREVENTABLE STILLBIRTH?
References: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 71, Number 4. Births: Provisional data for 2021. [Internet]. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022 [cited 2024 Apr 29]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr71/nvsr71-04.pdf 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER Online Database. [Internet]. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; [cited 2024 Apr 29]. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D76 3. 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. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6937a1 4. Page JM, Thorsten V, Reddy UM, et al. Potentially Preventable Stillbirth in a Diverse U.S. Cohort. Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Feb;131(2):336-343. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002421. 5. Flenady V, Wojcieszek AM, Middleton P, et al. Stillbirths: recall to action in high-income countries. Lancet.2016;387(10019):691-702. 6. NHS England. Saving Babies’ Lives Version Three: A Care Bundle for Reducing Perinatal Mortality. [Internet]. London: NHS England; 2023 May [cited 2024 Apr 29]. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/PRN00614-Saving-babies-lives-version-three-a-care-bundle-for-reducing-perinatal-mortality.pdf. 7. Heazell, A.E.P., Warland, J., Stacey, T. et al. Stillbirth is associated with perceived alterations in fetal activity – findings from an international case control study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2017;17(369). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1555-6 8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Fetal Deaths on CDC WONDER Online Database. Data are from the Fetal Death Records 2014-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at https://wonder.cdc.gov/fetal-deaths-expandedcurrent.html Accessed April 29, 2024. 9. United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). The Global Burden of Stillbirths. New York, NY: UNICEF; 2020. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/media/84851/file/UN-IGME-the-global-burden-of-stillbirths-2020.pdf. Accessed June 5, 2024.