India ranks high in the case of stillbirths world over as 10 countries led by India and Pakistan accounted for 66 per cent of the total 2.6 million stillbirths occur every year in the world, according to the information released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Every day more than 7200 babies are stillborn - a death just when parents expect to welcome a new life - and 98 per cent of them occur in low- and middle-income countries. High-income countries are not immune, with one in 320 babies stillborn - a rate that has changed little in the past decade, the release quoting the first comprehensive set of estimates published in the Lancet medical journal.

The stillbirth rate varies sharply by country, from the lowest rates of 2 per 1000 births in Finland and Singapore and 2.2 per 1000 births in Denmark and Norway, to highs of 47 in Pakistan and 42 in Nigeria, 36 in Bangladesh, and 34 in Djibouti and Senegal. It is estimated that 66 per cent - some 1.8 million stillbirths - occur in just 10 countries: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, China, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and the United Republic of Tanzania. Rates also vary widely within countries. In India, for example, rates range from 20 to 66 per 1000 births in different states.

The new estimates show that the number of stillbirths worldwide has declined by only 1.1 per cent per year, from 3 million in 1995 to 2.6 million in 2009. This is even slower than reductions for both maternal and child mortality in the same period. The five main causes of stillbirth are childbirth complications, maternal infections in pregnancy, maternal disorders (especially hypertension and diabetes), fetal growth restriction and congenital abnormalities.

“Comparing stillbirth rates in 1995 to 2009, the least progress has been seen in Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. However, some large countries have made progress, such as China, Bangladesh, and India, with a combined estimate of 400,000 fewer stillbirths in 2009 than in 1995. Mexico has halved its rate of stillbirths in that time,” the statement by WHO said.

“Many stillbirths are invisible because they go unrecorded, and are not seen as a major public health problem. Yet, it is a heartbreaking loss for women and families. We need to acknowledge these losses and do everything we can to prevent them. Stillbirths need to be part of the maternal, newborn and child health agenda,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Family and Community Health.