Stillbirth: The Tragedy We Pretend Is Unpreventable

New national data show that stillbirth risk sharply rises after 38 weeks of pregnancy, yet prevention tools like fetal movement tracking and timely induction remain underused—turning a silent tragedy.

Definition:
Stillbirth means the death of a baby before birth at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It is not a miscarriage and not a sudden newborn death—it is the loss of a baby who was expected to be born alive. In the United States, nearly 21,000 families experience this loss each year.

Each year, nearly 21,000 U.S. families go home without the baby they…