stillbirth

American  

[stil-burth] / ˈstɪlˌbɜrθ /

noun

• stillbirths
  plural

1. the birth of a dead child or organism.

2. a fetus dead at birth.

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stillbirth British  

/ ˈstɪlˌbɜːθ /

noun

1. birth of a dead fetus or baby

2. a stillborn fetus or baby

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stillbirth Cultural  

1. The birth of a fetus that has died; particularly, birth of a fetus that has died in the uterus at a stage in development when an infant could survive on its own if born healthy.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stillbirths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stillbirth

First recorded in 1745–55; still ¹ + birth

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stillbirth stillbirths

Kelsey Parker, the widow of The Wanted singer Tom Parker, has welcomed a baby after last year announcing a "devastating" stillbirth.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

She compared the pain she endured to the grief she felt after experiencing a stillbirth.

From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026

She’s twice turned to nonfiction, first for a 2008 memoir of stillbirth and parenthood, now for “A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

In Northern Ireland, the death of a baby after 24 weeks is officially recorded as a stillbirth but there is no formal recognition of loss before 24 weeks, as there is in England.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

The baby’s stillbirth might have remained a private tragedy for Marsha and her family had it not been for a nosy neighbor who had long been suspicious of the Colbeys.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

She added that researchers still did not fully understand why some health outcomes, including congenital anomalies and stillbirths, appear higher in Wales than in parts of the UK, and believes further research is needed.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Numbers recorded in the official documents show there were 52 stillbirths and two miscarriages at the home, more than 40 of them during Stannard's regime.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

Online sleuthing leads Evy and Justin to a demonic creature that causes miscarriages and stillbirths: Abyzou, the bitter spirit of an infertile woman who visits chaos upon other pregnancies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

In 1985, more than three dozen deaths in California — including stillbirths and fetuses lost to miscarriage – were blamed on listeriosis from soft cheeses produced by an Artesia company named Jalisco Mexican Products.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026

Parental irresponsibility is significantly illustrated in another case: A mother who had four live births and two stillbirths in twelve years lost all of her babies during their first year.

From The Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger