MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality report shows overall decrease

The Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report for Births in 2016 was published in June. While the mortality rate for stillbirths and neonatal deaths is essentially unchanged since the previous year, the overall rate has decreased since 2013 when MBRRACE-UK first started reporting.

The stillbirth rate for the UK in 2016 remained fairly static at 3.93 per 1,000 total births. This follows a three-year period of reduction from 4.20 to 3.87 stillbirths per 1,000 total births (2013 to 2015). The rate of neonatal mortality has shown a slow but steady decline over the period 2013 to 2016 from 1.84 to 1.72 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Importantly the stillbirth rate for twins has nearly halved since 2014 and, although the decrease in neonatal deaths in twins is smaller at 30%, both represent a statistically significant change that indicates these reductions are unlikely to be due to chance.

Variations in rates between trusts and health boards remain, although the variation in the stillbirth rate between trusts and health boards delivering similar levels of care is now less marked than in the past.

To read more you can download the full report here.