An urgent call from the Zain Jaffer Foundation to make stillbirth prevention part of the public health conversation.
Jennica & Baby Hugo
Every 16 seconds, a baby is stillborn. That adds up to nearly two million deaths each year. Behind every one is a family, a future, and a story that rarely makes it into public view.
Stillbirth remains one of the most under-recognized public health issues. It is missing from global development agendas, overlooked in policy, and undercounted in medical systems. Even in places with advanced healthcare, the issue receives little attention. Data is sparse. Prevention efforts are inconsistent. Families are often left without answers.
While not all stillbirths are preventable, far too many are — heartbreakingly so. Medical records show that warning signs are often missed and placental issues go undetected. In some cases, parents raised concerns that were dismissed. Before a Breath, a documentary by ProPublica, shows this clearly. It follows families who knew something was wrong, tried to get help, and were failed by the system. The stories are painful, and tragically, they are not rare.
In the U.S., groups like Measure the Placenta are pushing for the adoption of Estimated Placental Volume (EPV) screening, a non-invasive way to assess placental health. Others, like Count the Kicks, encourage daily monitoring of fetal movement. These are simple tools that can help surface problems earlier, giving providers more time to intervene. Yet most people still don’t know they exist.
The grief that follows stillbirth is heavy. What makes it harder is how often it’s met with silence. There is pressure to keep it private, to recover quickly, to move on. But grief doesn’t work that way. And silence leaves the next family just as vulnerable.
Change starts by speaking up. Stillbirth must be part of the broader conversation on maternal health. Families deserve better care, better information, and better support. Systems need better data and stronger protocols. Providers need training to listen, respond, and follow up.
At the Zain Jaffer Foundation, we are working with advocates, researchers, and families to help bring attention to stillbirth as a public concern. These are not isolated losses. They are signs that something in the system needs to be addressed.
We can’t undo what has already happened. But we can decide what happens next. And we believe fewer families should have to live through what so many already have.
