Our Cause

Pregnancy and Infant Loss

Pregnancy and Infant loss includes the loss of a child at any gestational age through one year old. There are many causes for a pregnancy or infant loss, with nearly 1 in 4 women experiencing a loss in their lifetime.

Statistics about Pregnancy and Infant Loss

The 2016 U.S. infant mortality rate, which measures the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births, was 5.84

3,700 Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths in the United States in 2015. The chart below illustrates the break down of the total SUIDs number.

Sleep related causes reached the highest rate in 2015 at 23.1 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Terminology

  • Fetal death: the intrauterine death of a fetus at any gestational age
  • Perinatal death: a death around the time of delivery, includes both fetal deaths and neonatal deaths.
  • Neonatal death: a death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days)
  • Infant death: the loss of a child up to 1 year old.
  • Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID): The death of an infant younger than 1 year of age that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. A full investigation is done to determine the cause of these deaths and diagnoses can include infection, suffocation caused by ingestion, entrapment or accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed, metabolic diseases, cardiac arrhythmias, trauma (accidental or non-accidental) and SIDS.
    • SIDS: a category of SUID in which the death of an infant under one year old cannot be explained even after a full investigation that includes a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history.