Data released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the stillbirth rate for England and Wales in 2022 was 4.0/1,000 births. This is down from 4.1/1,000 births, but remains higher than in 2019 and 2020.
While a decrease is welcome, still too many families are suffering the heartbreak of losing a baby.
And this means that for England, the government is not on track to meet its ambitions to halve the rate of stillbirths by 2025 compared to 2010 levels. This equates to 2.6 stillbirths per 1,000 births.
The recent Saving Babies’ Lives progress report, published by the Sands & Tommy's Joint Policy Unit, made clear the range of systemic issues that needed to be addressed to improve outcomes.
"Too often babies are dying as a result of care not being in line with nationally-agreed standards, and the we are still not properly learning lessons when babies die. With political will more progress is possible. We know that there is still a significant gap between the UK and those countries with the lowest rates of stillbirth.
"We need to take a step back, properly evaluate our current approach and ensure we are putting in place a system that supports safe care. Alongside this government must commit the resources needed to ensure its maternity safety ambitions can be met."
- Rob Wilson, Head of the Sands & Tommy's Joint Policy Unit
Government and the NHS have committed to act on the findings of recent investigations of maternity services. There are a range of initiatives aimed at improving safety, but these have not yet led to the fundamental change needed to make more substantial progress on reducing rates of pregnancy loss and baby death.
“Today’s ONS stats are further evidence that there is no room for complacency in efforts to reduce the stillbirth rate in England and Wales.
"Adequate staffing is essential for the delivery of safe care, and the government must ensure that the ambitions laid out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan are achieved on time, so that everyone gets the quality care and support they deserve during pregnancy, birth and afterwards.
"Both Donna Ockenden and Bill Kirkup made clear in their reviews of maternity services, the vital importance of listening to parents in order to improve safety and save babies' lives.
"To ensure safe and personalised care, expansion of the workforce must go hand in hand with culture change which embeds these values, and crucially puts women and their families at the centre of their care."
- Kate Mulley, Sands' Director of Research, Education, and Policy
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