Stillbirth still a problem - find British Medical Journal The Lancet
Highly recognised British medical Journal, The Lancet, has published a series of papers on stillbirth around the globe, revealing that Australia is ranked 15th in the world for the rate of stillbirths. According to The Lancet, 7 in every 1,000 Australian births results in stillbirth. Leading research body, the Stillbirth Foundation Australia, is one of a network of key charities througout the world who have contributed their findings to the international series. "We are incredibly proud to have been given the opportunity to provide the results of the research we have funded to this important Series", said Emma McLeod, Director and Founder of Stillbirth Foundation Australia. "The Lancet's Stillbirth Series has revealed that around 2.6 million stillbirths (the death of a baby at 28 weeks' gestation) occur each year. Although 98% of these deaths take place in low-income and middle-income countries, stillbirths also continue to affect wealthier nations such as Australia. According to these aggregated findings, around 1 in every 300 babies are delivered stillborn in high income countries. We are fortunate that the incidence in Australia is lower than this figure, however the levels of unexplained incidence of stillbirth remain unacceptably high. "The Lancet Series highlights the rates and causes of stillbirth globally, explores cost-effective interventions to prevent stillbirths (as well as maternal and neonatal deaths), and sets key actions to halve stillbirth rates by 2020." Families continue to struggle with the incidence of stillbirth in Australia, and the research funded by the Stillbirth Foundation Australia is working to uncover the mysteries of its occurrence. Research funded by the Stillbirth Foundation Australia has revealed that obesity, advanced maternal age (over 35 years) and smoking are all risk factors for stillbirth.
"Not knowing why a baby has died has been the impetus for the Stillbirth Foundation Australia", said Emma. "So many babies are being delivered stillborn and a good third of these we have no reason for their death. This is unacceptable in a first-world nation such as Australia. If Finland can command an incidence of only 2 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the statistics released by The Lancet, we believe Australia can too."