What to know
Stillbirth affects about 1 in 175 births. Each year, about 21,000 babies are stillborn in the United States. That is about the same as the number of babies who die during their first year of life.
What the data show
Since the 1940s, overall improvements in maternity care resulted in a dramatic reduction in the occurrence of stillbirth.1 In the past 30 years, medical advances have helped reduce the number of late and term stillbirths. However, recently the overall rate of decline has slowed.
Who is affected
Stillbirth rates are higher in some racial or ethnic groups. In 2021, stillbirth occurred among non-Hispanic Black women two times more often than non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander and White women.2
These differences could be attributed to many factors, including access to quality health care, pre-existing health conditions, and other factors that can affect pregnancy. Learning more about these factors helps improve our understanding of stillbirth and identify opportunities to create programs to reduce them.
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- Woods R. Long-term trends in fetal mortality: implications for developing countries. Bull World Health Organ. 2008 Jun;86(6):460-6. PMID: 18568275.
- Gregory ECW, Valenzuela CP, Hoyert DL. Fetal mortality: United States, 2021. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 72 no 8. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2023.
- Hoyert DL, Gregory EC. Cause-of-death Data From the Fetal Death File,2018-2020. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2022 Oct;71(7):1-20. PMID: 36301230.