Prevalence, Aetiology and Underlying Mechanism of Stillbirth: A Review

Introduction: Stillbirth is a global issue. The major factors linked to stillbirth include maternal age, parity (number of prior pregnancies), ethnicity, and pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. Substance abuse like smoking, drug and alcohol consumption are strongly associated with low birth weight and/or stillbirth. Other factors like demographic profile and genetic variations, multiple gestation, nutritional deficiencies, and access to prenatal care and prior unfavourable pregnancy outcomes may also be associated to stillbirth. Methods: We utilized several digital resources like, PubMed, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) databases to prepare this review article. Results: Approximately one out of every 72 babies worldwide pass away before delivery, leading to almost 3 million stillbirths annually. Demographic factors that have a significant impact on stillbirth-rates include poverty, low socioeconomic status and limited access to necessary medical interventions. Some aetiology and mechanistic layouts associated with stillbirth events including the physiological, biochemical and molecular processes have been extensively reviewed in this article. Conclusion: Conclusively, early record of stillbirth, hypertension, and multiple gestations were important determinants for stillbirth. Maternal age, BMI and several biochemical markers (PAPP-A, PIGF), other maternal factors like stress, haematological profile, and foetal factors like shorter gestation period and intra-uterine growth retardation may attribute to large number of stillbirth cases. Several preventive measures to avoid the above-mentioned factors could be beneficial to minimize stillbirth incidence.