Stillbirth Statistics for 2018 Released

Published on: 01/08/2019

The Office for National Statistics has today released the latest figures relating to births in England and Wales for 2018. A very important day for our stillbirth prevention charity, as we look at the potential impact ours and others work has had across England and Wales.

We are delighted to see the figure of 2,689, a fall of 6.4% from the figure of 2,873 in 2017. There were 4.1 stillbirths per thousand births in 2018 compared to 4.2 per thousand in 2017 (a 2.4% decrease when looking at births per thousand rather than actual figures), recording the lowest stillbirth rate since records began in 1927. This is incredible news and when looking at these figures, we never lose sight of the families within those statistics.

Stillbirth Decline Graph

 

Whilst we rejoice in this drop, we also do not lose sight of how far there still is to go. NHS England launched a long term plan on 7th January 2019 and within that, the plans to reduce stillbirth rates, maternal morbidity, neonatal mortality and serious brain injury by 50% by 2025. This target was initially announced in 2014 and the stillbirth rate in England needs to decrease to 2.6 per 1000 births if this is to be met. There must be a call for a greater focus and effort in reducing baby deaths, otherwise this ambitious target is unlikely to be achieved.

MAMA Academy CEO, Heidi Eldridge says:

“Whilst we welcome this continuous decline in stillbirth numbers, we also acknowledge the 2,689 families that have been left devastated in 2018. The UK needs to learn from other countries so it can save more babies lives at a much faster rate. Better detection and management of women at increased risk is needed, as are programmes to help reduce risk factors such as obesity and smoking, and improvements in information and standards of maternity care. MAMA Academy remains committed to helping the UK’s government reduce stillbirth numbers by half by 2025.”

What is being done to reduce stillbirths?

The Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle version 2 (SBLCBv2), which version 1 was previously trialed in 19 Trusts and resulted in a 20% decrease in stillbirths, is currently being rolled out to every maternity unit in England. The interim SPiRE report of the outcome of the trials highlighted many areas that could be improved upon and it is worth mentioning that no extra funding has been put in place to implement the elements within the bundle.

MAMA Academy’s Impact on Stillbirth

MAMA Academy has been helping to save babies lives since 2012. Since our charity was launched, the number of stillbirths began a significant decline for the first time in 20 years. We remain committed to seeing a continuous decline in stillbirth and neonatal death rates. The rates for the last few years can be found below:

2017 – 2,873 stillbirths – A fall of 7.7% from 3,112 in 2016 – 4.2 per thousand

. 2016 – 3, 112 stillbirths – A fall of 1.1% from 3,147 in 2015 – 4.4 per thousand

. 2015 – 3,147 stillbirths – A fall of 3.3% from 3,254 in 2014 –  4.5 per thousand

. 2014 – 3,254 stillbirths – A fall of 0.9% from 3,284 in 2013 – 4.7 per thousand

. 2013 – 3,284 stillbirths – A fall of 7.7% from 3,558 in 2012 – 4.7 per thousand

. 2012 – 3,558 stillbirths – A fall of 6.6% from 3,811 in 2011 –  4.9 per thousand. The lowest stillbirth rate since 1992 when it was 4.3, with the highest rate being 5.8 per thousand in 2003

. 2011 – 3,811 stillbirths = Increase of 2.6% from 3714 in 2010 – 5.2 per thousand

Our work perfectly compliments the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle.

In particular our Wellbeing Wallets are having a huge impact upon saving little lives. Sandwell staff reported to us a 60% decrease in their stillbirth rate in 2018 from having implemented our wallets which is incredible. As simple as awareness sounds, we should never underestimate its value. Our Wellbeing Wallets ensure vital information on problematic symptoms are not ignored and break down the barrier of confidence in pregnant women to make that call, instead of feeling like they are being a burden. The information is easy to follow and constantly to hand which is key in getting messages across. You can read Lisa’s story here that highlights the role our wallets played in the importance of being able to question initial advice given. This saved her baby’s life.

We are excited to be working on our replacement for the Wellbeing Wallets for those who have already moved over to digital records too. Watch this space!

Our CEO, Heidi regularly travels around the UK talking at midwifery study days and events about stillbirth prevention.

We also provide leaflets with the same information on as our Wellbeing Wallets, available in 11 different languages. This along with our multilingual resource page for midwives helps break down communication problems on helping women who do not speak English to have a safer pregnancy.

Our ambulance call cards for community / home birth midwives are helping ambulance response times to home births in London. We are looking forward to replicating this work across the UK.

Our website is a hub of information for pregnant women and midwives alike. We bring as much information as possible on stillbirth prevention together in one place. Midwifery study days based around stillbirth prevention, current statistics, current initiatives and reports to name but a few. If you are interested in a particular area relating to stillbirth, you can find links to the organisations that specialise in that area.

We reach thousands of parents daily through our social media campaigns and will continue to do so with lots of exciting future plans.

Thank you so much for your support

We are a small national charity that relies on our supporters generosity. We thank each and every one of you for your support. 

If you are looking for a stillbirth prevention charity that is making a difference, we would be over the moon if you would consider MAMA Academy as your chosen charity in the future. Every penny raised goes towards saving little lives!