Stillbirth rates show few signs of slowing

The global rate of stillbirths is causing concern after more than 15 years with no significant advances made in safeguarding unborn children against a variety of threats.

In a new series of special reports, medical journal The Lancet is highlighting the progress – or lack thereof – that has been made since 1995 on stillbirths and their causes.

A number of different medical conditions can raise the likelihood of a baby being stillborn, the publication says.

They include diabetes, congenital defects, pre-eclampsia and foetal growth restriction, whereby the baby reaches less than the tenth percentile of normal weight for its age while in the womb.

Dr Flavia Bustreo, assistant director-general for family and community health at the World Health Organization, adds that not all stillborn babies are recorded in a way that would offer full transparency.

"Stillbirths often go unrecorded and are not seen as a major public health problem," the medical expert suggests.

However, when all the different causing factors are considered as one, stillbirth rates as the fifth-highest cause of death in the world.