Stillbirth Rates in the US

To the Editor A recent study described contemporary stillbirth rates in the US using a large national cohort of commercially insured pregnancies. Among the study’s findings, Figure 1 in the article is particularly instructive.

This figure depicts the prospective fetal mortality rate by gestational age at delivery and the percentage of stillbirths at a given gestational week with at least 1 clinical risk factor. It clearly illustrates the rise in fetal mortality beginning at 39 weeks’ gestation, which is consistent with observations from large population-based cohorts.

Notably, this figure shows that the risk of stillbirth is not limited to high-risk pregnancies and increases substantially near term, with approximately 40% of stillbirths occurring without any identifiable risk factor other than a gestational age of more than 39 weeks.