Study: U.S. Stillbirth Rates Higher, Racial Gaps Persist

Analyses of more than 2.7 million U.S. pregnancies from 2016–2022 led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mass General Brigham, published in JAMA, found stillbirths occurred at about 1 in 147 births (6.8 per 1,000), totaling nearly 19,000—higher than CDC estimates of roughly 1 in 175. The study identified large socioeconomic and racial disparities, with rates as high as 1 in 95 in areas with higher proportions of Black families and 1 in 112 in low-income areas. While most stillbirths had at least one clinical risk factor (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, fetal growth issues), roughly 28–30% had no previously identified risk, and 40% of stillbirths after 40 weeks lacked detectable risk markers. Authors and experts say inconsistencies and inaccuracies in fetal death certificates and state reporting likely undercount stillbirths and are calling for better screening, standardized reporting, strengthened data systems and targeted preventive interventions. Researchers linked their findings to global concerns, citing work such as a University of Cape Town report on nearly one million largely preventable stillbirths annually in Africa.