About 3.2 million cases of stillbirth occur worldwide every year. Ninety-eight percent of these are in third world countries .Daily around 7177 are stillborn. In India, the stillbirth rate is about 23/1000 deliveries. Studies have shown that a woman with a previous history of stillbirth has appreciable level of stress in next pregnancy throughout her antenatal period. In addition, such women are at increased risk of stillbirth in next pregnancy. Therefore, proper care of women is required by an experienced clinician.
Definition: Fetal loss up to 24 weeks of gestation is defined as miscarriage. Late fetal loss is defined as in utero death between 22 +0 weeks and 23 +6 weeks. Stillbirth is defined as a baby delivering with no signs of life after 24 completed weeks of life. The World Health Organization uses 22 weeks threshold for defining stillbirth. Causes and associations: Multiple…
