U.S. Plans to Study Stillbirths

U.S. Plans to Study Stillbirths
Wed Nov 19, 9:56 PM ET  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government researchers said on Wednesday they are 
planning to start counting stillbirths and look into the causes. 

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National 
Institutes of Health (news - web sites), said it had parceled out nearly $3 
million to fund the national research effort. 


"Parents who suffer the loss of a fetus are often desperate for information about 
the cause," Dr. Catherine Spong, Chief of NICHD's Pregnancy and Perinatology 
Branch, said in a statement. 


"We hope this research will give us better information about stillbirth and its 
causes." 


The Stillbirth Research Collaborative Network will consist of five research 
centers to collect data and an independent data center to collect and analyze 
statistics. 


An estimated 26,000 American women have stillbirths every year -- defined as the 
loss of a pregnancy at 20 weeks or more. 


"To date, it has been difficult to collect information on stillbirths because the 
criteria for reporting them vary from state to state, and the issuance of fetal 
death certificates is not required," the NICHD said in a statement. 


"The number of reported deaths from stillbirth is equal to that of all infant 
deaths combined. Some causes of stillbirth are known, such as diabetes or high 
blood pressure affecting the mother. However, the cause of more than half of all 
stillbirths is unknown." 

Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.