Action demand over ‘shocking’ stillbirths

The number of stillbirths in the UK is “shocking” and as many as 1,200 could be avoided every year, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands said today.

Each day, 17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth – a number that has barely changed since the late 1990s. In 2010, 4,110 babies were stillborn, another 1,850 babies died in the first days of life, and a further 507 died aged between one and four weeks.

Sands calls for measures including research into scans and approaches to identify babies at risk, particularly late in pregnancy. Chief executive Neal Long said: “A third of stillborn babies – about 1,200 babies – are born late in pregnancy (after 37 weeks’ gestation), at gestations when they might safely be delivered. But routine antenatal care is failing to detect far too many babies who need help.”

Tony Falconer, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said most stillbirths were unexplained.

“We understand that increasing maternal age, obesity, ethnicity, congenital anomalies and placental conditions are associated with an increasing frequency of this tragedy.

He added: “We would therefore encourage scientific funding agencies to support more research in this neglected area which could further our understanding and reduce the number of cases.”