Warning as stillbirth rates in Scotland are among worst in world
MORE must be done to tackle Scotland’s high rate of stillbirths, a Scottish Government medical adviser warned yesterday.
Around 300 babies are stillborn every year, but up to 40 per cent of these deaths are preventable, according t o Dr Catherine Calderwood.
She has highlighted World Health Organisation f i gures which show Scotland’s stillbirth rate is ranked 31 out of 33 high- income countries in the world. A stillborn child is defined as a baby born dead after 24 weeks’ gestation and ten times as many die this way than through cot death.
Dr Calderwood, the Government’s adviser on maternity and women’s health, said: ‘Women can take 48 hours to report it to health services after feeling reduced movement from their baby. If they came to us sooner, t hey could have a caesarean section and their baby would be alive.
‘The concern is that midwives and obstetricians haven’t spoken to women enough about noticing these signs because we don’t want to upset people or make them anxious. But when we speak to women who have actually had stillbirths, they say they needed more information.’
Every year, hundreds of people in Britain suffer the heartache of having a stillborn child. They i nclude X Factor judge Gary Barlow and his wife Dawn, who lost their daughter Poppy in August 2012.
The l atest f i gures f r om NHS statistics agency ISD Scotland show there were 317 stillbirths in 2009. This
‘Move lives could be saved’
fell to 291 in 2010 but rose to 299 the next year. The rate has changed little in five years.
As a result of genetically-inherited conditions or other medical problems many stillbirths are unavoidable.
However, experts believe 25 to 40 per cent of stillborn babies could be saved through women being more health-conscious and more aware of changes in their baby’s movements or by medical staff spotting the child’s low weight in the womb.
A baby’s weight can drop if there are problems with the placenta, which cause almost two in five stillbirths.
Mothers who smoke, are obese, or are older than average are at increased risk of having a stillbirth.
The Scottish Government is giving every pregnant woman a leaflet detailing how their foetus should move in the womb at different stages of gestation.
The initiative is being backed by stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands. Charlotte Bevan, the organisation’s senior research and prevention adviser, said: ‘For too long stillbirths have been seen as deaths that were tragic but unavoidable.
‘Sands has worked hard to change that perception. The very fact that countries such as Norway have better stillbirth rates shows more lives could be saved in Scotland.’
Norway cut its stillbirth rate by a third after encouraging women to book a check-up if they noticed their baby was not moving. The Scottish target is to cut stillbirths by 15 per cent by 2015.
Dr Calderwood said: ‘As midwives and obstetricians, stillbirth is one of the most awful things to deal with. We always remember these babies that are born so beautiful, except they don’t have a heartbeat.
‘We hope increasing awareness will save people from that devastation.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have convened a Stillbirth Group which is looking at all issues surrounding stillbirth, i ncluding improvements in detection of those at risk of stillbirth, management following a stillbirth, bereavement support and information for parents.
‘We are already starting to see some results, and in 2011-12, stillbirths were at the lowest level ever recorded.’
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