New Delhi (NVI): Almost two million babies are stillborn every year around the globe – one every 16 seconds – the United Nations said, warning that the COVID-19 pandemic could add another 2,00,000 stillbirths due to 50 per cent reduction in health services.
A stillbirth is defined in the report as a baby born with no signs of life at 28 weeks of pregnancy or more.
Some 84 percent of stillbirths, take place in low- and middle-income countries, as a result of a lack of midwives and poor quality healthcare, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group said in a joint report.
Improvements in basic antenatal care could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year, they added.
According to the new report ‘A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths’, in 2019, 3 in 4 stillbirths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa or Southern Asia.
“Losing a child at birth or during pregnancy is a devastating tragedy for a family, one that is often endured quietly, yet all too frequently, around the world,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
“Every 16 seconds, a mother somewhere will suffer the unspeakable tragedy of stillbirth. Beyond the loss of life, the psychological and financial costs for women, families and societies are severe and long lasting. For many of these mothers, it simply didn’t have to be this way. A majority of stillbirths could have been prevented with high quality monitoring, proper antenatal care and a skilled birth attendant,” Fore added.
The report warns that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the global number of stillbirths.
A 50 per cent reduction in health services due to the pandemic could cause nearly 200,000 additional stillbirths over a 12-month period in 117 low- and middle-income countries. This corresponds to an increase in the number of stillbirths by 11.1 per cent, according to the report.
According to modeling done for the report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 13 countries could see a 20 per cent increase or more in number of stillbirths over a 12-month period.
From 2000 to 2019, the annual rate of reduction in the stillbirth rate was just 2.3 per cent, compared to a 2.9 per cent reduction in neonatal mortality, and 4.3 per cent in mortality among children aged 1–59 months. Progress, however, is possible with sound policy, programmes and investment.
“Welcoming a baby into the world should be a time of great joy, but every day thousands of parents experience unbearable sadness because their babies are still born,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The tragedy of stillbirth shows how vital it is to reinforce and maintain essential health services, and how critical it is to increase investment in nurses and midwives.”
The report also notes that stillbirth is not only a challenge for poor countries. In 2019, 39 high-income countries had a higher number of stillbirths than neonatal deaths and 15 countries had a higher number of stillbirths than infant deaths. A mother’s level of education is one of the greatest drivers of inequity in high-income countries.
“COVID-19 has triggered a devastating secondary health crisis for women, children and adolescents due to disruptions in life-saving health services,” said Muhammad Ali Pate, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents.
“India has made considerable progress in reducing stillbirths in the past few years. It is heartening to see the high-level of political commitment and investment towards ending preventable stillbirth deaths in the country. It is critical that women receive timely access to skilled and quality care before and during childbirth,” Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF India Representative said.
-CHK
