Table 1.
Foetal and maternal characteristics of stillborn singletons, 24–43 weeks of gestation, in the United States, 2014
| Antepartum deaths N = 6200 |
Intrapartum deaths N = 453 |
Not living during labour, no initial assessment a N = 1061 |
Unknown timing N = 4342 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % |
| Male sex | 3236 | 52.2 | 235 | 51.9 | 549 | 51.7 | 2753 | 51.0 |
| Age at delivery (years) | ||||||||
| < 20 | 434 | 7.0 | 40 | 8.8 | 89 | 8.4 | 344 | 7.9 |
| 20–24 | 1431 | 23.1 | 112 | 24.7 | 270 | 25.5 | 1045 | 24.1 |
| 25–34 | 3173 | 51.2 | 220 | 48.6 | 538 | 50.7 | 2162 | 49.8 |
| ≥ 35 | 1162 | 18.7 | 81 | 17.9 | 164 | 15.5 | 791 | 18.2 |
| Maternal educational attainment | ||||||||
| < High school diploma | 1120 | 18.1 | 75 | 16.6 | 224 | 21.1 | 751 | 17.3 |
| High school diploma/GED | 1819 | 29.3 | 140 | 30.9 | 332 | 31.3 | 1310 | 30.2 |
| Some college/Associate’s degree | 1541 | 24.9 | 127 | 28.0 | 249 | 23.5 | 1019 | 23.5 |
| ≥ Bachelor’s degree | 1198 | 19.3 | 74 | 16.3 | 169 | 15.9 | 714 | 16.4 |
| Unknown | 522 | 8.4 | 37 | 8.2 | 87 | 8.2 | 548 | 12.6 |
| Parity b | ||||||||
| Primipara | 2251 | 36.3 | 196 | 43.3 | 392 | 37.0 | 1635 | 37.7 |
| Multipara | 3796 | 61.2 | 241 | 53.2 | 649 | 61.2 | 2496 | 57.5 |
| Unknown | 153 | 2.5 | 16 | 3.5 | 20 | 1.9 | 211 | 4.9 |
| Timing of first prenatal care visit | ||||||||
| First trimester | 4021 | 64.9 | 281 | 62.0 | 583 | 55.0 | 2521 | 58.1 |
| After first trimester | 1303 | 21.0 | 99 | 21.9 | 244 | 23.0 | 860 | 19.8 |
| No care | 325 | 5.2 | 25 | 5.5 | 116 | 10.9 | 304 | 7.0 |
| Unknown | 551 | 8.9 | 48 | 10.6 | 118 | 11.1 | 657 | 15.1 |
| Maternal smoking c | ||||||||
| Yes | 682 | 11.0 | 53 | 11.7 | 132 | 12.4 | 477 | 11.0 |
| No | 4787 | 77.2 | 346 | 76.4 | 789 | 74.4 | 3147 | 72.5 |
| Unknown | 731 | 11.8 | 54 | 11.9 | 140 | 13.2 | 718 | 16.5 |
| Pre-pregnancy body mass index (kg/m2) d | ||||||||
| Underweight | 151 | 2.4 | 17 | 3.8 | 27 | 2.5 | 121 | 2.8 |
| Normal | 2028 | 32.7 | 143 | 31.6 | 385 | 36.3 | 1317 | 30.3 |
| Overweight | 1474 | 23.8 | 107 | 23.6 | 227 | 21.4 | 972 | 22.4 |
| Obese class I | 959 | 15.5 | 68 | 15.0 | 149 | 14.0 | 638 | 14.7 |
| Obese class II | 528 | 8.5 | 34 | 7.5 | 75 | 7.1 | 342 | 7.9 |
| Obese class III | 418 | 6.7 | 27 | 6.0 | 57 | 5.4 | 294 | 6.8 |
| Unknown | 642 | 10.4 | 57 | 12.6 | 141 | 13.3 | 658 | 15.2 |
| Maternal race e | ||||||||
| White | 2938 | 47.4 | 233 | 51.4 | 498 | 46.9 | 1923 | 44.3 |
| Black | 1626 | 26.2 | 95 | 21.0 | 300 | 28.3 | 1198 | 27.6 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 80 | 1.3 | 10 | 2.2 | 13 | 1.2 | 54 | 1.2 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 321 | 5.2 | 21 | 4.6 | 44 | 4.2 | 247 | 5.7 |
| Hispanic | 1235 | 19.9 | 94 | 20.8 | 206 | 19.4 | 920 | 21.2 |
| Pre-pregnancy diabetes | ||||||||
| Yes | 298 | 4.8 | 21 | 4.6 | 27 | 2.5 | 167 | 3.9 |
| No | 5722 | 92.3 | 42 | 92.7 | 992 | 93.5 | 3800 | 88.7 |
| Unknown | 180 | 2.9 | 12 | 2.6 | 42 | 3.9 | 318 | 7.4 |
| Gestational diabetes | ||||||||
| Yes | 404 | 6.5 | 21 | 4.6 | 43 | 4.1 | 209 | 4.9 |
| No | 5616 | 90.6 | 420 | 92.7 | 976 | 91.9 | 3758 | 87.7 |
| Unknown | 180 | 2.9 | 12 | 2.7 | 42 | 3.9 | 318 | 7.4 |
| Pre-pregnancy hypertension | ||||||||
| Yes | 337 | 5.4 | 21 | 4.6 | 48 | 4.5 | 201 | 4.7 |
| No | 5683 | 91.7 | 420 | 92.7 | 971 | 91.5 | 3766 | 87.9 |
| Unknown | 180 | 2.9 | 12 | 2.7 | 42 | 3.9 | 318 | 7.4 |
| Gestational hypertension | ||||||||
| Yes | 453 | 7.3 | 48 | 10.6 | 72 | 6.8 | 275 | 6.5 |
| No | 5567 | 89.8 | 393 | 86.8 | 947 | 89.3 | 3692 | 86.2 |
| Unknown | 180 | 2.9 | 12 | 2.7 | 42 | 3.9 | 318 | 7.4 |
| Eclampsia | ||||||||
| Yes | 49 | 0.8 | 5 | 1.1 | 5 | 0.5 | 34 | 0.8 |
| No | 5971 | 96.3 | 436 | 96.3 | 1014 | 95.6 | 2933 | 91.8 |
| Unknown | 180 | 2.9 | 12 | 2.7 | 42 | 3.9 | 318 | 7.4 |
| Delivery Place | ||||||||
| In hospital | 6109 | 98.5 | 442 | 97.6 | 1044 | 98.4 | 4197 | 96.7 |
| Out of hospital | 83 | 1.3 | 10 | 2.2 | 17 | 1.6 | 141 | 3.3 |
| Unknown | 8 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Attendant | ||||||||
| Doctor of Medicine | 5367 | 86.6 | 399 | 88.1 | 891 | 83.9 | 3713 | 85.5 |
| Doctor of Osteopathy | 464 | 7.5 | 28 | 6.2 | 92 | 8.7 | 299 | 6.9 |
| Certified Nurse Midwife/Other | 264 | 4.3 | 17 | 3.8 | 62 | 5.8 | 238 | 5.5 |
| Unknown | 105 | 1.7 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 1.5 | 92 | 2.1 |
Foetal deaths (data source: public use data file) of U.S. residents in New York City, the District of Columbia and the 41 states (see eTable 1)
aFoetus not living during labour and no initial assessment was performed (possible intrapartum or antepartum death). bIncludes prior live births, now living or dead. cMaternal tobacco use at any time during pregnancy. dUnderweight (< 18.5), Normal (18.5–24.9), Overweight (25–29.9), Obese class I (30–34.9), Obese class II (35–39.9), Obese class III (≥40). e Individuals for whom Hispanic ethnicity was unknown were assumed to be non-Hispanic; white, black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander are non-Hispanic