Stillbirth News and Research

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Stillbirth refers to the death of a baby before or during delivery and after 24 weeks of pregnancy. If a baby dies before 24 weeks of completed pregnancy, the term “miscarriage” or fetal loss applies instead.

GLP-1 receptor agonist exposure shows no link to major adverse pregnancy outcomes

New research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept 28 – Oct 2) and published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health shows that, following a review and meta-analysis of available studies, use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) drugs for diabetes and weight management in women living with diabetes is not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in most cases.

1 Oct 2026

The link between fish and pregnancy hypertension may start before conception

In a nationwide Japanese cohort of more than 86,000 women, higher fish intake before pregnancy was associated with lower odds of early-onset hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, while fish intake during pregnancy showed different associations with late-onset disease, particularly among women who had not previously given birth. Total dietary omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA intake showed much less consistent associations, suggesting that the relationship with fish consumption may not be explained by total PUFA intake alone.

9 Sep 2026

Hospital intervention reduces stillbirths and newborn deaths in Africa

A combination of training, quality improvement and leadership support in hospitals across four countries in sub-Saharan Africa is linked to fewer stillbirths and deaths among newborns during the first 24 hours of life.

26 Aug 2026

Book reframes pregnancy loss as a natural trial-and-error process

According to a new book from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign anthropology professor Kate Clancy, pregnancy is necessarily fraught, involving a series of tests of egg, embryo and reproductive system viability, with potential losses at every stage.

24 Aug 2026

UToledo researchers find new way to spot earliest warning signs of liver disease

Liver disease often progresses silently until it has become a serious condition. Researchers at The University of Toledo may have found a way to identify one of its earliest warning signs before symptoms appear.

18 Aug 2026

Higher doses of common fertility drug linked to pregnancy risks

Around one in six people experience infertility, with irregular or absent ovulation among the most common causes.

10 Aug 2026

Early vitamin B3 treatment may benefit children with rare genetic condition

Children with a rare and often fatal genetic condition may benefit from early treatment with vitamin B3, halting their significant deterioration, according to a new study.

28 Jul 2026

Researchers rank 11 preeclampsia therapies as top candidates for further development

Researchers ranked 83 preclinical candidates for preventing or treating preeclampsia and eclampsia, identifying 11 as having high potential for further development. The analysis also revealed limited target diversity, moderate bias, inactive programs, and animal models that may not fully represent human pregnancy

15 Jul 2026

New accessible placental measurement method could help prevent stillbirths

When Ann O'Neill suffered a stillbirth in 2018, she was bewildered. She was already a mother to three healthy children and therefore had received no information on stillbirth prevention from her doctors.

14 Jul 2026

GLP-1 exposure in pregnancy does not clearly raise major birth defect risk

A systematic review and meta-analysis of seven cohort studies involving more than 40,000 GLP-1 receptor agonist-exposed pregnancies found no statistically significant increase in major congenital malformations or several other adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the evidence was low or very low certainty, and a urinary malformation signal based on unadjusted data requires cautious interpretation.

10 Jul 2026

Customized fetal growth charts could reduce avoidable stillbirths across the NHS

One-size-fits-all fetal growth charts used in the NHS to monitor babies' growth before birth often misclassify babies as being either too small or too large, which can lead to missed cases at risk of stillbirth or unnecessary interventions, finds a study of over 3 million NHS births across England published by The BMJ today.

8 Jul 2026

Recognizing perinatal heart failure early reduces life-threatening risks

Early detection and timely treatment of heart failure in pregnant or postpartum women are crucial to prevent serious complications, such as irregular heartbeat, stroke and death, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement, "Heart Failure Occurring in the Perinatal Period."

25 Jun 2026

Trauma-linked sleep problems affect nearly 7% of Icelandic women

A nationwide Icelandic study found that 6.9% of women aged 18-69 reported trauma-associated sleep disturbances in the past month. These symptoms were most common after sexual or physical violence, recent or repeated trauma, and were strongly linked to PTSD, anxiety, depression, and general sleep problems.

22 Jun 2026

Research highlights ongoing TORCH infection risks despite rising vaccination rates

The TORCH complex is a group of pathogens that can cause infections with mild or silent symptoms in an expecting mother, but in a developing fetus can lead to serious complications that include stillbirth, lifelong disability, or birth defects.

8 Jun 2026

Dietary exposure to toxic metals causes over one million annual deaths

Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

4 Jun 2026

Novel wearable ultrasound patch improves high-risk pregnancy monitoring

Current fetal monitoring tools for physicians to closely follow high-risk pregnancies are inadequate, so researchers at Stanford Medicine, the University of California San Diego and Oxford University developed a wearable ultrasound patch to monitor such pregnancies.

26 May 2026

Endometriosis increases risk of some birth defects in infants

Research indicates women with endometriosis may face a higher risk of congenital anomalies in infants, emphasizing the need for further investigation.

13 May 2026

COVID-19 virus not retained in placenta after maternal recovery

A new Yale study published in JAMA Network Open finds that the virus that causes COVID-19 does not linger in placental tissue weeks to months after a pregnant woman recovers from infection - offering important reassurance for clinicians and patients alike.

22 Apr 2026

SARS-CoV-2 rarely reaches first-trimester placentas but still disrupts early pregnancy immunity

Researchers analyzing 761 first-trimester pregnancies found that SARS-CoV-2 was rarely detected in placental tissues, suggesting in utero transmission early in pregnancy is uncommon. However, maternal infection was linked to immune dysregulation at the maternal-fetal interface, altered trophoblast signaling, and inflammatory changes that could affect placental development.

14 Apr 2026

New risk models improve food safety guidelines for pregnant individuals

Listeria is the third-leading cause of death among bacterial foodborne pathogens in the U.S. and pregnant individuals bear a disproportionate share of that burden.

17 Mar 2026