Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Stillbirth
If you lose a fetus at or after the 20th week of pregnancy, it's called a stillbirth. A stillbirth can occur before or during delivery and may be considered as:
- Early. The loss of a fetus between 20 and 27 weeks of pregnancy.
- Late. The loss of a fetus between 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.
- Term. The loss of a fetus at 37 or more weeks of pregnancy.
Stillbirth can happen in any pregnancy. Some factors may increase the chance that one can occur. Risk factors can include if you:
- Are age 35 years or older
- Are of low socioeconomic status
- Smoke during pregnancy
- Have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
- Are a non-Hispanic Black woman
- Previously had a stillbirth
- Are pregnant with more than one baby (twins or triplets)
In many cases, the cause remains unknown. Some causes may be preventable, but most are not.
Causes for a stillbirth may include:
Before delivery, the only way to diagnose a stillbirth is to check if the fetus's heart is beating. Your health care provider may use an ultrasound to look for the fetal heartbeat.
During your pregnancy, your provider may recommend keeping track of fetal movements. However, if you don't notice movement, it doesn't always mean a stillbirth occurred. Sometimes, especially if it's your first pregnancy, it might be difficult to notice movement. If you're pregnant and something seems unusual or is worrying you, talk to your provider.
After labor and delivery, your provider will check the baby for signs of life. These can include breathing, heartbeat, voluntary movements, and pulsations in the umbilical cord. If one or more signs of life are not present, then life-saving measures are taken. If these measures are unsuccessful, a stillbirth may be diagnosed.
Care after a stillbirth depends on when it occurs. If it happens before delivery, your provider may induce (start) labor or use surgery to deliver the fetus (cesarean delivery). If it happens during labor and delivery, the placenta will still need to be removed or delivered.
No matter when it occurs, losing a pregnancy can be difficult. Counseling may help you cope with your grief. Later, if you decide to try to get pregnant again, work closely with your provider to understand any risks. Many women who have a stillbirth go on to have healthy babies.
It sits within Women, Pregnancy and Reproduction and Female Reproductive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Stillbirth
135 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Using Placental Pathology to Prevent Recurrent Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: A Pilot ProjectEndeavor Health
- Walk With Me (WWM) for Perinatal GriefOregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Inc.
- BEP Targeting Strategies in EthiopiaHarvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
- Perinatal Mortality Outcomes Through Household Infection PathwaysStanford University
- Continuation of the nuMoM2b Heart Health StudyRTI International
- Advancing Stillbirth Prevention Through Innovative Risk Evaluation (ASPIRE) Clinical StudyMedicines360
Research already completed
- Neonatal Evaluation of Norepinephrine Infusion in Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean SectionCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes
- The PartoMa Project: Enabling Best Post Possible Childbirth Care in Tanzania.University of Copenhagen
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- About StillbirthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Dealing with Grief after the Death of Your BabyMarch of Dimes Foundation
- Pregnancy LossDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
- StillbirthMarch of Dimes Foundation
- StillbirthEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Diagnosis and Tests
- Karyotype Genetic TestNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- Other FAQs About Pregnancy Loss (Before 20 Weeks of Pregnancy)Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Statistics and Research
- Data and Statistics on StillbirthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Fetal DeathNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: StillbirthNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Stillbirth. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Stillbirth, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.