Fetal Deaths

Fetal death refers to the spontaneous intrauterine death of a fetus at any time during pregnancy. Fetal deaths later in pregnancy (at 20 weeks of gestation or more, or 28 weeks or more, for example) are also sometimes referred to as stillbirths. In the United States, State laws require the reporting of fetal deaths, and Federal law mandates national collection and publication of fetal death data. Most states report fetal deaths of 20 weeks of gestation or more and/or 350 grams birthweight. However, a few states report fetal deaths for all periods of gestation. Fetal death data is published annually by the National Center for Health Statistics, in reports and as individual-record data files.

Publications

• NCHS Data Briefs
  • No. 316. Lack of Change in Perinatal Mortality in the United States, 2014–2016
  • No. 169. Trends in Fetal and Perinatal Mortality in the United States, 2006–2012
  • No. 16. The Challenge of Fetal Mortality
• National Vital Statistics Reports
  • Vol. 71, No. 7. Cause-of-death Data From the Fetal Death File, 2018–2020 [PDF – 2 MB]
  • Vol. 71, No. 4. Fetal Mortality: United States, 2020  [PDF – 804 KB]
  • Vol. 69, No. 4. Cause-of-death Data From the Fetal Death File,2015–2017 [PDF – 371 KB]
  • Vol. 65, No. 7. Cause of Fetal Death: Data From the Fetal Death Report, 2014 [PDF – 600 KB]
  • Vol. 64, No. 8. Fetal and Perinatal Mortality: United States, 2013 [PDF – 1.4 MB]
  • Vol. 60, No. 8. Fetal and Perinatal Mortality, United States, 2006 [PDF – 433KB]
  • Vol. 57, No. 8. Fetal and Perinatal Mortality, United States, 2005 [PDF – 522 KB]
  • Vol. 56, No. 3. Fetal and Perinatal Mortality, United States, 2004 [PDF – 520 KB]
  • Vol. 55, No. 6. Fetal and Perinatal Mortality, United States, 2003 [PDF – 590 KB]
  • Notice of Error in the 2003 and 2004 Fetal Death Data Files and Reports [PDF – 131 KB]
• Health, United States
  • Health, United States, 2009. Table 19. Infant mortality rates, fetal mortality rates, and perinatal mortality rates, by race: United States, selected years 1950–2006 [PDF – 10 MB]
• Vital and Health Statistics, Series 20
  • No. 31. Medical and Life-style Risk Factors Affecting Fetal Mortality, 1989-90 [PDF – 336 KB]
  • No. 30. Fetal Mortality by Maternal Education and Prenatal Care, 1990 [PDF – 251 KB]
• MMWR on Fetal Mortality [PDF – 328 KB]

Micro-data

• Access to downloadable datasets – Vital Statistics Online

Methods

• Instruction Manual Part 3b (1989 Revision) [PDF – 926 KB]
• Instruction Manual Part 3b Replacement (2003 Revision) [PDF – 627 KB]
• Errata Part 2k [PDF – 386 KB]
• Instruction Manual Part 2k [PDF – 752 KB]
• Instruction Manual Part 11 [PDF – 718 KB]