A total of 8 Comments accompany the Series. In the Comment introducing the Series, Lancet Editor-in-Chief Dr Richard Horton and Senior Editor Dr Zoë Mullan say: "The grief of a stillbirth is unlike any other form of grief: the months of excitement and expectation, planning, eager questions, and the drama of labour—all magnifying the devastating incomprehension of giving birth to a baby bearing no signs of life. Thankfully such events are rare. Or are they? As the Series we launch today shows, almost 3 million stillbirths happen worldwide every year, which, even for a country with a developed health system such as the UK, means that 17 sets of parents every day will take home their newborn baby in a coffin."
They conclude: "To a mother and father, a stillbirth is no less a tragedy than the death of a newborn baby or child. These women and men deserve recognition of their loss and reassurance that an accurate record of it will add to the global knowledge required to prevent future ones."
In another Comment, Janet Scott of Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity), London, UK, looks at stillbirth from the parents' perspective. She says: "Stillbirth is one of the last taboos—the death of a baby before birth somehow considered not to count. The failure to prevent stillbirth suggests an almost public acceptance that it is just "one of those things''. To anyone who has not had personal experience of a stillbirth, it can be all too easy to underestimate the impact and the significance. But if we undervalue the damage that follows a stillbirth, we leave bereaved families to grieve in isolation and silence, and the problem remains ignored."
The Comment details the powerful stories of Steven Guy, of the UK, and Malika Ndlovu, of South Africa, both of whom are parents of stillborn children, clearly illustrating the worldwide nature of the tragedy of stillbirth. Scott concludes: "Every bereaved parent wants to know what can be done to stop other families experiencing the same heartache. The passion that parents have to save other babies' lives makes them powerful advocates for change. The energy they bring to fundraising, campaigning, and lobbying, and their bravery in sharing their difficult stories in public, will never bring their own babies back, but it will perhaps one day prevent the unnecessary and ignored death of another child."
Comment contacts: Janet Scott, Sands, London, UK. T) +44 (0) 7554 454313 E) janet.scott@uk-sands.org
The Lancet Press Office. T) +44 (0) 20 7424 4949 E) tony.kirby@lancet.com
Journal
The Lancet