Words From a Doctor about Stillbirth

Dr. Alexander Heazell, a clinical lecturer in obstetrics in the U.K., is one of us. The father of a stillborn child. And he wants the medical community, society, the world, to end the silence about stillbirth. 

In a recent edition of the British Medical Journal, Heazell writes about his son's stillbirth, noting that, in the UK, there is an average of 10 stillbirths daily, or 4,000 a year--which he points out is the number of babies one hospital might be expected to deliver in a year. He says such deaths are "under-researched and under-prioritized" because of society's reluctance to deal with stillbirth out in the open.

In an article I found on www.EmaxHealth.com, Heazell is quoted, “Thirty years ago, no one talked about cancer. Today the diagnosis and treatment of cancers is improving all the time. If parents are brave enough to speak, and doctors, midwives and policy makers courageous enough to listen to them, then the barriers to reducing the number of these deaths can be overcome. In time stillbirth, like cancer, will no longer be taboo, but a condition that’s openly debated, researched, treated, and prevented.”

A Film About Stillbirth

I stumbled on information about a stillbirth film this week. The film, titled "Peekaboo," is in production in the UK. The production company, Big Buddha Films, bills itself as an "independent film company that focuses on making films with a strong female voice, that tackle human dilemmas, and show the vulnerabilities of human existence."


I'm not sure I can envision a film on stillbirth, and I'm not even sure I'd want to watch one. (Having lived through it is enough.) It's an interesting idea, however, and I think it might do some good to raise awareness.

Readers, what are your thoughts on a stillbirth film?

Babies Remembered

Sherokee Ilse, who is one of the foremost authorities on stillbirth advocacy in the U.S. (co-chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance, author of books and articles on stillbirth, president of Wintergreen Press, and much more) offers a (fairly new) magazine for babyloss parents, Babies Remembered.

Some of the topics she has covered include hospital support, Mother's and Father's Day, and dealing with the holidays.

The first three issues of the magazine are available on her website for free download; all issues after that are available for $12 on her site.

These are excellent resources for parents and families and another valuable tool for anyone dealing with babyloss.

What If?

What if 5,479 teenagers died suddenly every day, for no apparent reason?

That number is half of the approximately 10,958 infants who are stillborn every day in the world. Approximately 50% of stillborn babies die without any known cause.

Do you think the world would sit up and take notice? Do you think doctors, medical researchers, governments would take action? Do you think there would be an outcry?

I do.

I also think the world would demand answers.

We are losing 10,958 infants to stillbirth every day. When, I ask you, will someone take notice and do something?

Stillbirth by the Numbers

If you're new to stillbirth issues, the numbers are shocking. To those of us who have traveled this road for far too long, the numbers no longer shock. They depress. They mystify--if the numbers are so high, why is there not more awareness, as there is for SIDS, for autism, for breast cancer? So here they are, the numbers of stillbirth, in black and white.

- there are 26,000 stillbirths in the U.S. each year
- there are 4 million stillbirths in the world every year
- there are 900,000 early pregnancy losses in the U.S. each year
- there are nearly 20,000 neonatal losses each year in the U.S.
- approximately 1 in 115 births will result in a stillbirth in the U.S.
- this equates to one stillbirth every 20 minutes
- in Australia, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the rate of stillbirth is approximately 1 in every 200 births
- in Scotland the rate of stillbirth is approximately 1 in 167
- about 50-60% of stillbirths will never be explained

What Remains

This is what I have of Ben. A small wooden box of ashes.

A box that, at some point in their lives, and more than once, both of my living children have picked up, shaken, and asked me what's inside.

When I don't reply with an answer to their question, they normally say, "Sand?"

And I say, "Yes, something like that."

The other day James asked if we could open it, and I said no. "Why not?" he asked.

I replied, "Because everything inside would spill out."

"But you could put it back in again," he said.

How do you explain that this mysterious little box, so fun to shake and hear the "sand" inside, is what remains of the brother he will never get to know? How do you explain that his parents chose to burn the body of that brother so that, when we move from this place, we could take him with us?

I don't know.

There are so few answers to the questions that remain forever.

Searching for the Answers to Stillbirth

I came across an article written in March 2006 by journalist Suzanne Pullen of the San Francisco Chronicle and wanted to share some of it here with you. Ms. Pullen lost her son Avery in 2005 at 24 weeks.

She cites statistics I have mentioned in earlier posts and backs up my hope--the hope of stillbirth parents everywhere--that more research will be done into stillbirth. Here are a few excerpts from her article: (complete article can be accessed here)

"Searching for answers will provide little solace to many parents because so little research has been done on the causes of stillbirth -- classified by most in the medical community as the death of a fetus at or beyond 20 week's gestation. The efforts of many researchers have been stymied by the lack of standardized methods of reporting stillbirths and the collection of data from hospital to hospital, county to county, state to state. Fetal autopsies -- which are not covered by all insurance companies and have no national protocol -- are not required by law or hospital policy unless foul play is suspected."

And:

"Stillbirth has been an extremely under-researched area," said Dr. Uma Reddy, an OB/GYN with the National Institutes of Health. "There is a huge gap in information."

Why? Why is stillbirth so under-researched? When will people understand that something needs to be done?

I spoke this morning with the husband of a friend. He and his wife lost their second child, a son, at full-term just one year ago. They don't know why he died. She is now pregnant with another son and they are, of course, terrified. Neither of them hail from the U.S.; both come from different European countries. My friend's husband, a scientist and Ph.D., told me how shocked he was at the statistics for stillbirth in this country. In their native countries cases of stillbirth are much, much lower. Why? He thinks, perhaps, medical professionals in their native countries have more awareness of the issue, pay more attention to risk factors.

Yes, it's anecdotal, but--what if he's right?

We can cut the numbers of babies stillborn every year down dramatically, if we, as a nation, only have the will.

What will it take?