An Executive Summary for the BMC
Pregnancy and Childbirth Supplement
The BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Supplement, “Stillbirths – the global picture and
evidence-based solutions” provides a detailed assessment of the 3.2 million stillbirths that occur worldwide
each year, which are largely absent from global data tracking, policy dialogue and programmes. Stillbirths are a
major burden in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries, but have received low priority in both
settings. However, stillbirth rates are particularly high and attention is most lacking in policy and programmes in
low-income countries. This supplement contains six papers [1-6] and one commentary that provide an in-depth
analysis of the burden and evidence base for interventions to avert stillbirths. Lead investigators from Aga Khan
University (Karachi, Pakistan), supported by colleagues from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA) and Saving
Newborn Lives/Save the Children (Cape Town, South Africa), reviewed the evidence for impact of interventions to
prevent stillbirths and strategies for delivering effective interventions in low- and middle-income settings.
The aim of the Supplement was to provide a comprehensive, global review of available information on stillbirths,
with main objectives to:
1) elucidate the epidemiology and major risk factors for stillbirths [1];
2) evaluate potential interventions and strategies to deliver these interventions, categorising their level of
evidence and highlighting key implementation, monitoring and research gaps [2-6]; and
3) place the available evidence for interventions in a health systems context to guide programme implementation [6]