Stillbirth Risk Factors

Stillbirth refers to fetal death after 20 weeks of pregnancy either before or during labor. Although suspected causes of stillbirth include birth defects, placental problems, poor fetal growth, maternal medical conditions, maternal age, bacterial infections and other problems, the National Institutes of Health says that in half the cases no cause can be determined.

Maternal Medical Conditions

• Cigarette smoking may increase the risk of stillbirth.

  Many stillbirths are due to inadequate prenatal care, according to the March of Dimes. When mothers don't receive prenatal care, they may suffer from malnutrition or have unmanaged diabetes or high blood pressure. All of these conditions increase the risk of stillbirths. Rh disease can also be detected with prenatal care and mothers who are treated for it have greatly reduced stillbirth risks. Alcohol abuse, drug use and smoking may increase the risk of stillborn births.

Maternal Age

• Women over 35 are more likely to experience stillborn births.

  Women over the age of 35 are more likely to experience stillborn births. Women over the age of 40, according to the March of Dimes, are two to three times more likely to have a stillbirth, although the causes of this are still not understood.

Maternal Obesity

• Obesity raises stillbirth risks.

  Obesity in expectant mothers may increase stillbirth risks, reports the March of Dimes. Obese women should try to limit weight gain during pregnancy rather than lose weight. Obesity also makes gestational diabetes and Type 2 diabetes more likely--conditions that can increase stillbirth risk.

Multiple Births

• Having had multiple births increases risk of stillbirth.

  Having had twins, triplets or other multiple births can increase stillbirth risks. Age, fertility treatments, obesity and over-average height increase the risk of multiple births. Multiples decrease fetal growth size and the length of pregnancy. This contributes to gestational diabetes, low birth weight, placenta problems and other conditions that increase the risk for stillborn births. A study done at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark has found that women who become pregnant through in vitro fertilization are four times more likely to experience stillbirth than women who conceive naturally.

African-American Ancestry

• African-American women have higher stillbirth risk.

  African-American women have twice the risk of stillbirth that white women do. The reason for this is still not understood, reports the March of Dimes. But African-American women are also more likely to have multiple births, especially fraternal twins.