Background

Stillbirth is the term health care providers use to describe the unplanned loss of a fetus due to natural

causes late in the pregnancy. Many healthcare providers consider the loss of a fetus a stillbirth after

about 20 weeks gestation, but there is not yet a standard definition of stillbirth used by the federal

government, state and local governments, healthcare providers, and healthcare advocacy organizations.

Approximately one in every 160 pregnancies in the United States ends in stillbirth each year. Stillbirths

can occur before delivery or as a result of complications during labor and delivery. In at least

half of all cases, physicians can find no cause for the pregnancy loss. Some stillbirth mothers are

young, in good health, and had used good prenatal care practices throughout the pregnancy.

In some cases of stillbirth, the mother may notice a decrease in fetal movement or a decrease in kicking

of a fetus toward the end of the pregnancy.

Why is this legislation necessary?

Despite the relatively high incidence of stillbirths yearly in the United States, there have been little

concentrated research efforts into this type of pregnancy loss. CDC does currently collect data on

stillbirths, but the data set is neither complete nor standardized; stillbirth data is compiled by CDC

with the U.S. Standard Report of Fetal Death, which is completed on a state-by-state basis without the

use of a standard protocol on the local level.

What would H.R. 521 do?

H.R. 521 seeks to standardize the definition of stillbirth and the method in which stillbirth data is

collected so that there can be a national repository for stillbirth data with which to conduct comprehensive

research efforts. H.R. 521 also authorizes a campaign to increase public awareness of good

prenatal care practices, fetal movement awareness, and measures to maintain a healthy pregnancy,

which may decrease the risk for stillbirth.

In addition, H.R. 521 contains a provision encouraging NIH to allocate more resources to stillbirth

research. The bill would also encourage more states to enact legislation allowing the issuance of a

Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth, as opposed to the formerly more standard practice of issuing

only a death certificate in the case of a stillbirth.