preventable stillbirth should be a thing of the past
(all figures U.S.)
- “Stillbirth” is the intrauterine death of a baby at or after 20 weeks’ gestation.
- Stillborn babies still have to be delivered just like living babies.
- Stillbirth is not a cause of death. Stillbirth describes the time of death (before birth) -- each stillbirth has a cause which should be investigated.
- While there are certain factors that put some people at higher risk of experiencing a stillbirth, it can happen to anyone, and often happens in otherwise healthy “textbook” pregnancies.
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21,000+ lives each year
65 families a day
1 baby every 23 minutes
1 in 160 pregnancies end in stillbirth
Black mothers, who are already at higher risk of maternal mortality, are twice as likely to suffer a stillbirth as white mothers
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25%
or more of all stillbirths are preventable
47%
-- nearly half -- of full term stillbirths are preventable
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We can fight back against this stillbirth epidemic.
There are two pieces of bipartisan federal legislation on the table that aim to begin to address some of the factors that lead to the unacceptably high stillbirth rate in this country.
The SHINE for Autumn Act (H.R. 5012 / S. 2647)
“The Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act is federal legislation that focuses on preventing stillbirths through enhanced data collection, research, education, and awareness and is the beginning of a longer-term solution to reducing stillbirth rates.”
Specifically, SHINE will provide grants to enhance state stillbirth data collection and reporting, enable a research or pathology fellowship on stillbirth that would include training on fetal autopsies, and coordinate with healthcare providers to develop guidelines and educational materials for state departments of health that will better educate providers and families about stillbirth risk and prevention.
Read more here.
The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act (H.R. 4581 / S. 2231)
“The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act is a critical piece of legislation that would add stillbirth and stillbirth prevention to Title V of the Social Security Act — something that has been lacking since the introduction of Title V funding back in 1935.”
Inclusion in Title V would allow states to use already existing block funding to fund state stillbirth prevention efforts.
Read more here.
What Can I Do?
Call and Email your Reps
Follow Stillbirth Prevention Advocates and Organizations
Learn & Share about
Listen and Talk about Stillbirth
Support
the Mission
Congressional offices keep records of how many constituent calls and emails they get and what constituents are asking for. This is the most effective way to get the attention of legislators.
You can find links for emailing your represenatives using pre-made templates at the bottom of this page.
This is the best way to learn about ongoing calls to action and how stillbirth continues to affect families.
Check out our Resources page for advocates and organizations we follow.
One of the first and usually only signs of fetal distress parents can detect is a change in movement.
Count the Kicks has saved lives by making evidence-based kick-counting easy (the 10 kicks in 2 hours metric is outdated!).
How can we prevent stillbirth if, most of the time, people only hear about it when it happens to them?
Stillbirth is not a taboo topic.
Stillbirth is not contagious.
But talking about it, and listening to survivors’ stories, can help prevent it from happening to someone else.
Whether it’s donating during the Marlo Means Fun Marathon, sharing advocacy posts on social media, or volunteering your time with prevention or bereavement organizations, even a small amount of support can help us care for stillbirth survivors and ensure that in the future, there are no more preventable stillbirths.
- “Stillbirth: Data and Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022.
- “When Your Baby is Stillborn.” Mount Sinai.
- Eldeib, Duua.“She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story.” Propublica, 2022.
- Page et al. “Potentially Preventable Stillbirth in a Diverse U.S. Cohort.” Obstet Gynecol., 2018.
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MARLO MEANS FUN!
The Stillbirth Prevention Act
