What does stillbirth mean?
Stillbirth is the delivery of a fetus that has died before birth, commonly used in medicine and public-health reporting. It is a grave and sensitive term, especially when families are grieving or when it appears in medical records, research, and news reports. The word can also be used figuratively for an idea, plan, or creative effort that fails to develop. In that sense, it suggests a possibility that never matured, but the comparison may sound insensitive when made in a medical or bereavement context. Stillbirth is related to, but not synonymous with, miscarriage or neonatal death: the former generally refers to an earlier pregnancy loss, while the latter describes a baby who was born alive and died soon afterward. Precise definitions and gestational thresholds can vary by jurisdiction and clinical guideline. Even so, the central sense is consistent: a birth involving a fetus that was not alive at delivery.
nounThe delivery of a fetus that has died before birth. Figuratively, an attempt, plan, or hope that fails to develop or come into being.
- The medical delivery of a fetus that has died before birth.
- The failure of an attempt, plan, idea, or hope to develop or come into being.
"The hospital's review found that early prenatal care may reduce the risk of stillbirth."
"The hospital reported a stillbirth at thirty-two weeks of gestation."
"The committee described years of unresolved planning as the stillbirth of the project."
Stillbirth is a countable noun; the plural is used when referring to separate cases.
"The researchers analyzed data from 250 stillbirths across several hospitals."
Stillbirth is a birth marked by the absence of life: a clinical term that also carries profound human grief.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stillbirth come from?
The word is an English compound formed from still, in the sense of being quiet, fixed, or without movement, and birth. Its medical sense refers to a fetus that is dead when delivered, while its figurative sense denotes something expected to develop that instead fails to come into being. The birth element also appears in related forms such as birth, newborn, rebirth, and stillborn.
Related word forms
How stillbirth is actually used
This is primarily a formal medical and public-health term. In bereavement contexts it is grave and sensitive; figurative use can sound clinical or insensitive, especially when applied to people, families, or creative work.
Easily confused with stillbirth
A miscarriage generally refers to pregnancy loss before the stage at which a delivery is classified as a stillbirth, although precise boundaries vary by jurisdiction.
A neonatal death occurs after a baby has been born alive, whereas a stillbirth involves delivery of a fetus that has already died.