We put a lot of faith in our medical system, particularly when we are expecting a child, so to learn that it is falling below par in some of the most important areas is very distressing.

 

This seems to be the case for the British system this week, following the revelation that it is falling behind when it comes to making progress to prevent stillbirths.

 

According to new data published this week, Britain has recorded a stillbirth rate of 2.9 per 1,000 births over the past 15 years. The most concerning statistic shows that, on a table displaying countries’ progress to prevent stillbirth, Britain stands in the lower third at 114th place with an annual reduction rate of just 1.4%.

 

The latest research also shows that, out of more than 2.6 million stillbirths around the world every year, half could be prevented with more research and improved procedures.

 

 

The statistics were shared today by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with Professor Joy Lawn describing the lack of progress as ‘unacceptable’.

 

“These babies should not be born in silence, their parents should not be grieving in silence, and the international community must break the silence as they have done for maternal and child deaths,” she said.

 

This message was supported by mum Emma Kedge, who lost her precious son Oscar at 38 weeks into her pregnancy, almost three years ago.

 

Calling for more research into the causes of stillbirths and how to prevent them, Emma said: “I get very angry that it’s just acceptable for healthy babies to die for no reason. If these babies were actually born and then alive it would be treated as more serious, but just because they don’t make it out doesn’t mean there was nothing wrong with them.”

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