NIH launches consortium to reduce risk of stillbirth in U.S.

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(The Center Square) – The National Institutes of Health launched a new effort on Tuesday to reduce the risk of stillbirth in the U.S.

The health agency said that more than 60% of the nearly 24,000 stillbirth cases annually remain unexplained.

The consortium is aimed at reducing the rate of preventable stillbirths.

"Investigators will develop tools, devices and other technologies that have the potential to affect diagnosis and prevention efforts relevant to stillbirth, which occurs in 1 in 160 deliveries in the U.S," according to NIH.

More than 60% of stillbirth cases remain unexplained even after exclusion of common causes, such as congenital abnormalities, genetic factors and delivery complications.

NIH will fund the Stillbirth Research Consortium for more than $37 million over five years, pending the availability of funds, with $750,000 in co-funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.

"This consortium will provide an integrated, collaborative program to support cutting-edge research to identify the root causes of stillbirth and inform evidence-based strategies to address stillbirth risks," said Alison Cernich, acting director of NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "Too many families needlessly face the grief of stillbirth."