3.2 million stillbirths: epidemiology and overview of the evidence review.

ABSTRACT: More than 3.2 million stillbirths occur globally each year, yet stillbirths are largely invisible in global data tracking, policy dialogue and programme implementation. This mismatch of burden to action is due to a number of factors that keep stillbirths hidden, notably a lack of data and a lack of consensus on priority interventions, but also to social taboos that reduce the visibility of stillbirths and the associated family mourning. Whilst there are estimates of the numbers of stillbirths, to date there has been no systematic global analysis of the causes of stillbirths. The multiple classifications systems in use are often complex and are primarily focused on high-income countries. We review available data and propose a programmatic classification that is feasible and comparable acros

SUBMITTER: Lawn JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2679408 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature