Perinatal deaths
Content warning: This content contains information some readers may find distressing as it relates to stillbirth and the loss of a baby.
The data presented in this section are from the National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection (NPMDC). The latest report from this collection, Stillbirths and neonatal deaths, is available as a web article.
Perinatal deaths refer to the death of a baby prior to or during labour and/or birth (stillbirth) or up to 28 days after birth (neonatal death), where the baby is of 20 or more completed weeks of gestation or with a birthweight of at least 400 grams.
In 2019, the Stillbirth Centre for Research Excellence created the Safer Baby Bundle which is a collection of evidence-based interventions designed to reduce stillbirths in late pregnancy (Centre of Research Excellence Stillbirth, 2019).
International evidence is mixed on whether COVID-19 infection during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth. Some research indicates that there is no increase (Smith et al. 2023), whilst other research suggests that COVID-19 infection can increase the risk of stillbirth (DeSisto et al. 2021; Gurol-Urganci et al. 2021).
In Australia, a study of pregnant women who lived in Melbourne found that stay at home orders were associated with an increase in pre-term stillbirths (Hui et al. 2023).
Figure 35 presents data on stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
Figure 35: Stillbirths and neonatal deaths, by state and territory of birth, 2015 to 2021
Line graph shows perinatal deaths by state and territory of birth between 2015 and 2021.
The stillbirth rate was between 6.7 and 7.7 per 1,000 births between 2015 and 2021. The rate in 2021 (7.2 per 1,000 births) is lower than in 2020 (7.7 per 1,000 births) and the same as in 2019. These changes are similar to year-to-year fluctuations observed in the stillbirth rate. For more information on perinatal deaths, see Stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
It was not possible to undertake linear regression modelling for stillbirths due to high variability between years of data. For more information on modelling the trend over time, see Methods.
Centre of Research Excellence Stillbirth (2019) Safer Baby Bundle handbook and resources guide: working together to reduce stillbirth. Centre of Research Excellence Stillbirth, accessed 22 April 2024.
DeSisto CL, Wallace B, Simeone RM, Polen K, Ko JY, Meaney-Delman D and Ellington SR (2021) ‘Risk for stillbirth among women with and without COVID-19 at delivery hospitalization - United States, March 2020-September 2021’, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly, 70(47):1640-1645. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7047e1
Gurol-Urganci I, Jardine JE, Carroll F, Draycott T, Dunn G, Fremeaux A, Harris T, Hawdon J, Morris E, Muller P, Waite L, Webster K, van der Meulen J and Khalil A (2021) ‘Maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of birth in England: national cohort study’, Am J Obstet Gynecol, 225(5):522, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2021.05.016
Hui L, Marzan MB, Potenza S, Rolnik DL, Pritchard N, Said JM, Palmer KR, Whitehead CL, Sheehan PM, Ford J, Mol BW and Walker SP (2022) ‘Increase in preterm stillbirths in association with reduction in iatrogenic preterm births during COVID-19 lockdown in Australia: a multicenter cohort study’, Am J Obstet Gynecol, 227(3):491, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2022.04.022.
Smith ER, Oakley E, Grandner GW, Ferguson K, Farooq F, Afshar Y, Ahlberg M, Ahmadzia H, Akelo V, Aldrovandi G, Tippett Barr BA, Bevilacqua E, Brandt JS, Broutet N, Fernández Buhigas I, Carrillo J, Clifton R, Conry J, Cosmi E, Crispi F, Crovetto F, Delgado-López C, Divakar H, Driscoll AJ, Favre G, Flaherman VJ, Gale C, Gil MM, Gottlieb SL, Gratacós E, Hernandez O, Jones S, Kalafat E, Khagayi S, Knight M, Kotloff K, Lanzone A, Le Doare K, Lees C, Litman E, Lokken EM, Laurita Longo V, Madhi SA, Magee LA, Martinez-Portilla RJ, McClure EM, Metz TD, Miller ES, Money D, Moungmaithong S, Mullins E, Nachega JB, Nunes MC, Onyango D, Panchaud A, Poon LC, Raiten D, Regan L, Rukundo G, Sahota D, Sakowicz A, Sanin-Blair J, Söderling J, Stephansson O, Temmerman M, Thorson A, Tolosa JE, Townson J, Valencia-Prado M, Visentin S, von Dadelszen P, Adams Waldorf K, Whitehead C, Yassa M and Tielsch JM (2023) ‘Adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection: an individual participant data meta-analysis’, BMJ Glob Health, 8(1):9495, doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009495.