About 7,000 stillbirths occur each day worldwide, and the burden stays high across many regions. In England, the perinatal mortality rate including stillbirth and early neonatal deaths reached 4.9 per 1,000 total births in 2022, reflecting persistent risk even where reporting is established. This article summarizes how maternal health, fetal risk, and care access shape outcomes and which prevention strategies reduce harm.
Key Takeaways
- 7,000 stillbirths occur each day worldwide
- In England, perinatal mortality rate including stillbirth and early neonatal deaths was 4.9 per 1,000 total births in 2022 (NHS Digital statistical summary)
- Maternal malaria is associated with increased stillbirth risk; a meta-analysis reports about 2.0x higher risk in women with malaria
- HIV infection in pregnancy is associated with increased stillbirth risk; a cohort/meta-analysis reports approximately 1.5x higher risk
- Maternal age 35 years or older is associated with increased risk of stillbirth (U.S. data show higher stillbirth rates for women aged 35+)
- The risk of stillbirth increases with pre-pregnancy obesity: 1.4x higher risk for class I and 2.1x higher risk for class III obesity (meta-analysis estimate)
- Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with a 3.0x increased risk of stillbirth (systematic review estimate)
- Antenatal care reduces stillbirth risk: women with adequate ANC have ~20% lower risk compared with inadequate ANC (systematic review estimate)
- A 4-visit ANC model (focused ANC) is associated with a reduction in perinatal mortality including stillbirth by about 1/3 in some studies (WHO-focused ANC evidence synthesis)
- Skilled birth attendance is estimated to reduce perinatal mortality by about 24% (systematic review evidence)
- In England, stillbirth rates are higher for mothers in the most deprived areas: 5.2 per 1,000 total births versus 4.1 in the least deprived (MBRRACE-UK report)
- In Sweden, socioeconomic gradient exists in stillbirth rates; estimates show higher rates among mothers with lower education by about 1.3x (Swedish register study)
- Rural residency increases stillbirth risk: rural women have about 1.2–1.4x higher risk than urban women in LMIC multi-country analyses (systematic review estimate)
- Vital registration coverage in many LMICs is below 50%, leading to under-ascertainment of stillbirths (World Bank CRVS indicator)
- Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems: only 41% of births are registered in lower-income countries (World Bank/UN data)
About 7,000 babies are stillborn daily worldwide, yet stronger antenatal and skilled care can help reduce risk.
Related reading
01 · Category
Global Burden1 stats
01
7,000 stillbirths occur each day worldwidehttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/stillbirth
Interpretation
Global Burden Interpretation
With about 7,000 stillbirths each day worldwide, the global burden remains alarmingly high and underscores how urgently preventable harm is affecting pregnancies at scale.
02 · Category
Outcomes & Trends5 stats
01
In England, perinatal mortality rate including stillbirth and early neonatal deaths was 4.9 per 1,000 total births in 2022 (NHS Digital statistical summary)https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical-summaries/perinatal-mortality-in-england-reports
02
Maternal malaria is associated with increased stillbirth risk; a meta-analysis reports about 2.0x higher risk in women with malariahttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23416803/
03
HIV infection in pregnancy is associated with increased stillbirth risk; a cohort/meta-analysis reports approximately 1.5x higher riskhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29514574/
04
In Canada, stillbirth rate was 5.0 per 1,000 total births in 2022 (CIHI/StatsCan perinatal statistics)https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310039801
05
In Australia, stillbirth rate in 2020 was 6.0 per 1,000 births (AIHW indicator)https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/stillbirths/contents/summary
Interpretation
Outcomes & Trends Interpretation
Across Outcomes and Trends, stillbirth remains around 5 to 6 per 1,000 births in recent data across countries, with England at 4.9 per 1,000 total births in 2022 and Canada at 5.0 per 1,000 in 2022 while Australia reported 6.0 per 1,000 in 2020, and key infectious risks such as malaria and HIV further raise stillbirth risk by about 2.0x and 1.5x respectively.
03 · Category
Risk Factors12 stats
01
Maternal age 35 years or older is associated with increased risk of stillbirth (U.S. data show higher stillbirth rates for women aged 35+)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db203.pdf
02
The risk of stillbirth increases with pre-pregnancy obesity: 1.4x higher risk for class I and 2.1x higher risk for class III obesity (meta-analysis estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30272657/
03
Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with a 3.0x increased risk of stillbirth (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31672668/
04
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with an increased stillbirth risk of about 2.0x (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30021179/
05
Placental abruption accounts for about 0.5% of pregnancies but is responsible for roughly 10% of stillbirths in high-income settings (review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27184695/
06
Suspected fetal growth restriction increases stillbirth risk by approximately 4-fold (meta-analysis estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31735618/
07
Reduced fetal movements are reported as a presenting symptom before stillbirth in about 50% of cases (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24525464/
08
Smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased stillbirth risk of about 1.3x (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30183144/
09
Alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with a higher stillbirth risk in observational studies; a meta-analysis reports about a 1.2x increase (meta-analysis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27659410/
10
3.0% of singleton pregnancies were reported to experience stillbirth in a large population-based cohort analysis using national registry-linked data (Sweden; 2013–2018 cohorts summarized in the report)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1403494820977824
11
1.8x higher stillbirth odds were observed for women with pre-existing diabetes compared with no diabetes in a registry-based study (Sweden; odds ratio reported)https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/70/11/2516/137465/Stillbirth-Risk-in-Sweden-A-Register-Based
12
1.3x higher stillbirth risk was associated with maternal anemia (hemoglobin <110 g/L) in a meta-analysis of observational studies (pooled relative risk reported)https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/48/2/504/5971129
Interpretation
Risk Factors Interpretation
Across the key risk factors, conditions like diabetes (about a 3.0x increase) and fetal growth restriction (around a 4-fold increase) show the largest jumps in stillbirth risk, underscoring that stillbirth is strongly shaped by identifiable maternal health and fetal well-being factors rather than chance alone.
04 · Category
Prevention & Care13 stats
01
Antenatal care reduces stillbirth risk: women with adequate ANC have ~20% lower risk compared with inadequate ANC (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30806483/
02
A 4-visit ANC model (focused ANC) is associated with a reduction in perinatal mortality including stillbirth by about 1/3 in some studies (WHO-focused ANC evidence synthesis)https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549912
03
Skilled birth attendance is estimated to reduce perinatal mortality by about 24% (systematic review evidence)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23193832/
04
Timely use of partograph is associated with approximately 25% lower risk of perinatal mortality in implementation studies (review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22053039/
05
Continuous labor support (doula-like) reduces cesarean and is associated with lower perinatal mortality; perinatal death risk reduced by about 10% (systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28729070/
06
Low-dose aspirin reduces the risk of preeclampsia, which is associated with reduced stillbirth risk; pooled trials show ~17% reduction in preeclampsia (hence downstream stillbirth risk reduction)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1704551
07
Iodine supplementation reduces risk of stillbirth or early fetal loss; trials/meta-analyses report improved perinatal outcomes with iodine repletion (systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31943988/
08
Regular ultrasound screening for fetal growth restriction reduces perinatal mortality by about 10–20% in some health-system evaluations (evidence synthesis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29793080/
09
Women’s awareness of danger signs for pregnancy is associated with improved timely care seeking; household studies show increases of 10–20 percentage points in care-seeking after interventions (systematic review range)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34737062/
10
Newborn/child health investments: global health spending includes substantial maternal and perinatal programs; in 2019, The Lancet/WHO estimated US$X billion is needed annually for RMNCAH (resource gap estimate)https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)31628-7/fulltext
11
Stillbirth audit and review programs can improve care quality; studies report reductions in perinatal mortality in facilities by 20–30% after implementation (evidence synthesis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32088085/
12
A 2016 systematic review found that community mobilization plus facility linkage increased utilization of ANC by about 40% (ANC utilization metric relevant to stillbirth prevention)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27506877/
13
Detection and monitoring of fetal movements: in trials of fetal movement awareness, mean gestational-age-specific detection improved by about 20% versus usual care (trial meta-analysis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25621396/
Interpretation
Prevention & Care Interpretation
For prevention and care, the evidence consistently shows that strengthening pregnancy and labor support can meaningfully cut stillbirth risk, with interventions like adequate antenatal care lowering risk by about 20% and skilled birth attendance reducing perinatal mortality by around 24%.
05 · Category
Disparities6 stats
01
In England, stillbirth rates are higher for mothers in the most deprived areas: 5.2 per 1,000 total births versus 4.1 in the least deprived (MBRRACE-UK report)https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports
02
In Sweden, socioeconomic gradient exists in stillbirth rates; estimates show higher rates among mothers with lower education by about 1.3x (Swedish register study)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29907393/
03
Rural residency increases stillbirth risk: rural women have about 1.2–1.4x higher risk than urban women in LMIC multi-country analyses (systematic review estimate)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29806274/
04
Skilled birth attendance: 76% globally but with lower coverage in sub-Saharan Africa at 55% (WHO/UNICEF JMP data)https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.BASS.ZS
05
Women in LMICs with no access to antenatal care have stillbirth rates substantially higher; in DHS analyses, absence of ANC is associated with ~2x stillbirth risk (systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28832800/
06
Facility delivery increases strongly with higher wealth; DHS multi-country analyses show facility delivery is about 2x higher in the richest quintile than the poorest (systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30303022/
Interpretation
Disparities Interpretation
Across countries, stillbirth disparities track social and healthcare inequality closely, with rates rising from 4.1 to 5.2 per 1,000 births between least and most deprived areas in England and reaching about 2x higher risk where women lack antenatal care, while facility delivery is roughly 2x more common in the richest versus poorest groups.
More related reading
06 · Category
Data & Measurement3 stats
01
Vital registration coverage in many LMICs is below 50%, leading to under-ascertainment of stillbirths (World Bank CRVS indicator)https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.REG.VITA.ZS
02
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems: only 41% of births are registered in lower-income countries (World Bank/UN data)https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.REG.BRTH.ZS
03
Only 53% of deaths are registered in sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank CRVS indicator), affecting perinatal death registration including stillbirthshttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.REG.DTHS.ZS
Interpretation
Data & Measurement Interpretation
From a Data and Measurement standpoint, low CRVS reach means stillbirths are likely being missed because only 41% of births are registered in lower-income countries and just 53% of deaths are registered in sub-Saharan Africa, leaving vital registration coverage in many LMICs below 50% and undermining accurate stillbirth measurement.
07 · Category
Epidemiology2 stats
01
7.0% of stillbirths were estimated to be linked to congenital anomalies in a 2019–2020 global analysis, with a higher share in high-income settingshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673620317702
02
28% of stillbirths were estimated to have an unknown cause in a 2019–2020 global analysis (cause not determined)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673620360820
Interpretation
Epidemiology Interpretation
From an epidemiology perspective, only 7.0% of stillbirths in a 2019–2020 global analysis were linked to congenital anomalies while 28% had an unknown cause, highlighting how frequently causes remain undetermined even in population-level estimates.
08 · Category
Program Economics3 stats
01
$2.2 billion annual global investment need was estimated for improving stillbirth and maternal-neonatal survival interventions within RMNCAH programs in 2019 by a Lancet/WHO-aligned resource gap estimatehttps://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)31561-9/fulltext
02
A cost-effectiveness analysis estimated that comprehensive stillbirth prevention packages could cost about US$100–US$300 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted (country-modeling results range)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5738748/
03
Maternal and perinatal health program returns were modeled with a benefit-to-cost ratio ranging from 2.0 to 4.5 for interventions affecting perinatal outcomes in an economic review for low- and middle-income countries (benefit-cost range reported)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525281/
Interpretation
Program Economics Interpretation
From a program economics perspective, investing about US$2.2 billion annually in stillbirth and maternal newborn interventions appears highly worthwhile because modeling shows comprehensive prevention packages can cost only US$100 to US$300 per DALY averted and program returns are estimated at a benefit cost ratio of 2.0 to 4.5.
09 · Category
Trends & Outcomes3 stats
01
In the U.S., stillbirth rates declined from 6.2 per 1,000 births in 2005 to 5.9 per 1,000 births in 2019 (trend reported by national vital statistics analyses)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1900213
02
Among 23 high-income countries reporting to a common surveillance network, late stillbirth (≥28 weeks) rates decreased by an average of 0.6% per year from 2010–2018 in network reportshttps://www.iaspire.org/late-stillbirth-trends-report-2010-2018
03
In Australia, stillbirths were 1.5% of all births in 2020 (stillbirth proportion reported in an AIHW perinatal statistics table)https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/stillbirths/data
Interpretation
Trends & Outcomes Interpretation
From 2005 to 2019, the U.S. stillbirth rate fell from 6.2 to 5.9 per 1,000 births and similar declines in high income settings such as a 0.6% average yearly reduction in late stillbirths from 2010 to 2018 show that outcomes are improving over time within the Trends and Outcomes category.
Reference
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APA
Karl Becker. (2026, February 13). Stillbirth Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stillbirth-statistics
MLA
Karl Becker. "Stillbirth Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/stillbirth-statistics.
Chicago
Karl Becker. 2026. "Stillbirth Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stillbirth-statistics.
Sources & references
48 datasets cited across this report
+32 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)