Baby Loss Statistics
Stillbirth
Sadly around 4600 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every year in the UK, which amounts to over 13 every day and the UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world.
A report published in The Lancet medical journal in 2015 concluded that a substantial proportion of stillbirths are potentially preventable as they occur so close to term. If babies at risk of being stillborn were identified, they could be delivered early, preventing a tragic outcome.
Miscarriage
A large number of miscarriages go unreported as many can be dealt with at home so there is no clear number of how many occur every year but it is thought to be that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in early miscarriage (up to 14 weeks) and 1 in 100 pregnancies end in late miscarriage (14 to 24 weeks). Women who have taken more than a year to conceive are twice as likely to miscarry than those who conceive within three months. Sadly, it is also quite common for couples to go on to have more miscarriages as 1 in 100 couples experience recurrent miscarriage (3 or more in a row). However, women experiencing recurrent miscarriages, are still likely to go on to have a successful pregnancy in the future.
Premature Birth
1 in every 9 babies in the UK is born premature or sick. That is over 80,000 babies every year. Approximately half of all multiple pregnancies are born prematurely. Around 8% of babies (1 in 13) are born before 37 weeks gestation, 6% occur between 22 and 27 weeks, and just under 1% occur before 22 weeks.
According to the EPICURE study in 2006, in the UK and Ireland, 7% of babies born at 22 weeks survived, 42% of babies born at 24 weeks survived and 78% of babies born at 26 weeks survived.
Some Comparables
Cot death occurs in 0.40 per 1000 which is approximately 300 a year. Down Syndrome affects 1 in every 1000 babies born which is approximately 700 per year. Spina Bifida occurs in 0.6 per 10,000 births which is approximately 44 per year.
Statistics provided by: