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last mo.

JAMA Study Finds U.S. Stillbirths More Common Than Federal Counts, With Stark Disparities

Authors attribute the gap to flawed fetal-death reporting.

FLORIDA CITY, FL - OCTOBER 12: Simone Gabriel, 22, who is four months pregnant, lies on a bed as Zaditza Silveira uses an ultrasound machine to take images of her baby at the Birthing Center of South Florida October 12, 2006 in Florida City, Florida. Some reports say that this week the human population of the United States will reach 300 million. The excess of U.S. births over deaths accounted for about 1.7 million new Americans between 2004 and 2005, according to official figures. Another 1 million were added by immigration. The United States will remain the world's third most populous country after China and India. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Researchers analyzed more than 2.7 million pregnancies from 2016 to 2022, identifying 18,893 stillbirths using commercial insurance claims and demographic datasets.
  • The study estimated a rate of roughly 1 in 147–150 births, higher than the CDC’s national figure of about 1 in 175.
  • Nearly 27.7% of stillbirths had no documented clinical risk factor, rising to 40.7% at 40 weeks’ gestation or later.
  • Stillbirth risk was highest with low amniotic fluid, fetal anomalies, and chronic hypertension, with risk climbing after 41 weeks.
  • Rates were concentrated in disadvantaged communities, reaching about 1 in 112 in low-income areas and 1 in 95 in areas with larger Black populations, prompting calls for improved surveillance, risk prediction, and prevention.