Sometimes babies die because of the quality-of-care mums and babies receive.
An enquiry in 2015 found that in 60 per cent of cases, a stillbirth might have been prevented if health professionals had followed national or relevant local guidelines.
The National Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) was launched in 2018 and aims to provide answers for bereaved parents and their families about why their baby died.
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership says in the last year 3,981 reviews were carried out across the UK, 97% of which identified at least one issue with care (with an average of four issues per death – increasing to five issues per death where the baby was born at term). Other key findings include:
Inadequate fetal growth surveillance was identified as relevant in 9% of deaths reviewed and remains the most common single issue
Inadequate investigation or management of reduced fetal movement was the second most common single issue (relevant in 8% of deaths reviewed)