Date: 20 January 2012
Author: Sharon Allison

Leading Neonatal charity SANDS has reported that Britain has one of the worst stillbirth rates in the developed world and suggests that as many as 1,200 lives could be saved every year if more was done to tackle the continuing problems.

Shocking figures illustrate that 17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every day, a statistic that has barely changed since the late 1990s.

Common causes of stillbirth include birth defects, maternal medical problems and infections – however, what is more concerning is that despite significant advances in medicine and technology, a third of cases cannot be explained.

Sharon Allison, medical injury lawyer at Ashton KCJ says: “ These are truly horrendous statistics and a sad reflection of the lack of progress that has been made to date to reduce such tragedies. The fact that approximately 500 babies die every year because of a trauma or event during birth that was not anticipated or well managed is evidence that there is not adequate learning from past mistakes”.