Symptoms are things you feel yourself that others can't see, like having a sore throat or feeling dizzy. The most common symptom of stillbirth is when you stop feeling your baby moving and kicking. Others include cramps, pain or bleeding from the vagina.
Stopping of fetal movement and kicks. Spotting or bleeding. No fetal heartbeat heard with stethoscope or Doppler. No fetal movement or heartbeat seen on ultrasound, which makes the definitive diagnosis that a baby is stillborn.
At or after 40 weeks, the risk of stillbirth increases, especially for women 35 or older. Their risk, research shows, is doubled from 39 weeks to 40 and is more than six times as high at 42 weeks.
Stillbirth is further classified as either early, late, or term. An early stillbirth is a fetal death occurring between 20 and 27 completed weeks of pregnancy. A late stillbirth occurs between 28 and 36 completed pregnancy weeks. A term stillbirth occurs between 37 or more completed pregnancy weeks.
The biggest nongenetic risk factors for a stillbirth in the United States are being an older mother; expecting more than one baby; having no other children; smoking; using drugs or alcohol; and having obesity, diabetes (gestational or not) or high blood pressure, according to the American College of Obstetricians and ...
Stillbirth in Australia
In Australia, 6 babies are stillborn each day, affecting more than 2,000 Australian families each year.
Like the two earlier papers, this report provides surprisingly encouraging data. Most babies born unexpectedly without a heartbeat can be successfully resuscitated in the delivery room. Of those successfully resuscitated, 48% survive with normal outcome or mild-moderate disability.
After a fetus dies, labour will usually begin on its own within 2 weeks. Many women don't want to wait that long. They choose to have labour induced. This means going to the hospital and, usually, getting medicine that starts the labour process.
Consistent Growth Patterns. Good growth and development is the surest manner to keep track that your foetus is developing into a healthy baby. Having regular antenatal care helps your healthcare practitioner to plot your baby's development and ensure that growth milestones are being achieved.
High levels of perceived stress were shown to double the risk of stillbirth (3.57% vs 1.17%) independent of other social factors and pregnancy complications that can put pressure on mothers.
If you have continued bleeding and pain, however, this may indicate that the developing baby has died. Another sign of pregnancy loss is when your baby's heartbeat cannot be found on ultrasound (a machine that takes pictures of your uterus and baby). This is called a fetal death in utero.
Confirming the baby has died
You'll also be offered an ultrasound scan to check your baby's heartbeat. Sometimes a mother may still feel her baby moving after the death has been confirmed. This can happen when the mother changes position. In this case, the mother may be offered another ultrasound scan.
Problems with the placenta that prevent the fetus from getting nourishment (such as placental detachment) Sudden severe blood loss (hemorrhage) in the mother or fetus. Heart stoppage (cardiac arrest) in the mother or fetus. Umbilical cord problems.
Stillbirth can be diagnosed by ultrasound examination to show that the baby's heart is no longer beating. After delivery, the baby is found to be stillborn if there are no signs of life such as breathing, heartbeat, and movements.
Doctors usually recommend a natural or induced labour to deliver your baby. This is because a caesarean (or c-section) is major sugery, which carries more risks and can affect future pregnancies. It usually requires a longer recovery period in hospital, and at home, too.
Many stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta. The placenta is the organ that links the baby's blood supply to the mother's and nourishes the baby in the womb. If there have been problems with the placenta, stillborn babies are usually born perfectly formed, although often small.
Women who had a caesarean delivery had a higher risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and placental problems in future pregnancies than women who had a vaginal delivery. All but one study was observational, so we cannot be sure whether delivery method causes these outcomes.
What causes a stillbirth? There can be a number of reasons why a baby is stillborn however sometimes a cause cannot be found. In Australia, the major causes of stillbirth are infection, the health of the mother, bleeding, a premature labour that cannot be stopped or an abnormality with the developing baby.
Common causes of stillbirths that occur during labour are hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), placental obstruction and other delivery and labour related complications. Many of these can be avoided if key interventions, such as assisted vaginal delivery, skilled birth attendants or emergency C-sections, are available.
Malaria may be an important cause of stillbirth in women infected for the first time in pregnancy. The two most important viral causes of stillbirth are parvovirus and Coxsackie virus, although a number of other viral infections appear to be causal.
Stillbirth gives rise to societal, psychological and physical challenges. Both parents can be significantly affected by the stillbirth of their baby, often experiencing grief, anxiety, fear and suffering, even if they may not express these emotions outwardly or immediately.