Research priorities for stillbirth: Process overview and results from UK Stillbirth Priority Setting Partnership

In the UK, stillbirth is defined as intrauterine death of a fetus after 24 weeks of pregnancy or with a birth weight ≥ 500 g if the gestational age is unknown1. In 2013, there were 3286 stillbirths in the UK (4.2 per 1000 live births)2. A reduction in the number of stillbirths is highly desirable owing to the significant adverse medical, psychological, social and economic impacts associated with stillbirth3-6. The variation in stillbirth rates in high-income countries suggests that rates can be reduced in countries with high rates7. In comparison with pregnancy conditions resulting from a single etiology, prevention of stillbirth is challenging, as it may be the endpoint of different pregnancy complications – such as fetal growth restriction, congenital anomalies or infection – and the cause is unknown in approximately 15% of cases8, 9. Original research has an important role to play in the reduction of stillbirth, but compared to other pregnancy outcomes stillbirth remains under-researched; a MEDLINE keyword search (carried out on 4 June 2015) retrieved 2399 hits for stillbirth, 8247 for preterm birth and 12 527 for pre-eclampsia. Therefore, to address this gap in research, further studies on stillbirth are needed.