Yes, stillbirth is incredibly painful, causing profound emotional distress, grief, and shock, alongside potential physical discomfort from bodily changes like cramping, bleeding, or lactation, making it a deeply distressing experience requiring significant support for both physical and mental recovery. The delivery process itself is managed like a live birth, with pain relief provided, but the emotional impact of losing a planned baby is immense and long-lasting.
It can leave you feeling in shock, numb and disconnected. Many parents said that after losing their baby they could not think straight and felt unable to make decisions. Grief can take over your mind and sometimes affect your short-term memory. You may find it difficult to remember things that have just happened.
After a fetus dies, labour will usually begin on its own within 2 weeks. But if you don't want to wait that long, you can choose to have labour induced.
As with any delivery, your body will go through some big changes and will need time to heal. Be sure to allow yourself time to rest and recover. It usually takes 4 to 6 weeks for your body to recover after delivery. You may continue to have vaginal bleeding during this time.
Key points about stillbirth
Stillbirth is a common term for death of a fetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Symptoms of stillbirth include stopping of fetal movements or kicks, and vaginal bleeding or spotting.
Softening of all organs and connective tissues, laxity of joints. Exudation (leaking) of fluid and hemolyzed blood into pleural (lungs), pericardial (heart) and peritoneal (abdomen) cavities. The fetus looks edematous (hydrops-like), later progressive loss of fluid results in mummification.
For the first 30 minutes, a stillborn baby feels soft and warm, just like a live baby.
Stillbirth can be diagnosed by ultrasound examination to show that the baby's heart is no longer beating. After delivery, the baby is found to be stillborn if there are no signs of life such as breathing, heartbeat, and movements.
Giving birth if your baby has died
This decision doesn't usually need to be made immediately, and it may be possible to go home for a day or two first. In some cases, medicine that prepares a woman's body for the induction process may be recommended. This medicine can take up to 48 hours to work.
It is common for women and their partners to try for another pregnancy soon after stillbirth and older studies have found that almost half of such couples are pregnant within six months.
In the same way, a sunshine baby is one born before you encounter a loss. This loss may result from: Miscarriage: the loss of a pregnancy in the first 20 to 24 weeks. Stillbirth: a baby who is born without any signs of life at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy: a fertilized egg implants outside the ...
Many stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta. The placenta is the organ that links the baby's blood supply to the mother's and nourishes the baby in the womb. With more research, it's hoped that placental causes may be better understood, leading to improved detection and better care for these babies.
You may wish to carry your baby in your arms, use a Moses basket, a casket obtained from a funeral director or one that you have made yourself. However, consideration should be given to the gestational age of your baby and fragility of their body when deciding how to take them home.
This means that even your miscarried or stillborn baby was intentionally and supernaturally selected by God to be your child. He or she was reserved just for you, and there is purpose in this selection (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Colossians 1:16-17).
The hardest deaths to grieve often involve a child, a spouse/life partner, or a loss due to suicide or homicide, as these challenge fundamental beliefs about life's order, shatter primary support systems, or add layers of trauma, guilt, and unanswered questions, leading to potentially complicated grief. However, grief is deeply personal, and the "hardest" loss is ultimately the one that feels most significant to the individual.
When to have your baby's funeral. There is no legal time limit for having a funeral. Unless there are religious or other reasons for holding a funeral quickly, you can take all the time you need to make sure your baby's funeral is arranged as you would like it to be.
The "3-2-1 Rule" in pregnancy is a guideline for first-time mothers to know when to call their midwife or doctor for active labor: consistent contractions every 3 minutes, lasting 2 minutes each (or 1 minute long for some variations), for over 1 hour. It helps differentiate true labor from false labor (Braxton Hicks), signaling it's time to head to the birthing center, while subsequent pregnancies often follow the faster 5-1-1 rule.
Some parents decide to take their baby home with them. Legally you can do this, unless a coroner or procurator fiscal has ordered a post-mortem (a medical examination to help find out why your baby died).
An early stillbirth is a fetal death occurring between 20 and 27 completed weeks of pregnancy. A late stillbirth occurs between 28 and 36 completed pregnancy weeks. A term stillbirth occurs between 37 or more completed pregnancy weeks.
Healthcare providers classify stillbirths based on the number of weeks of pregnancy before the fetus passes.
A baby who dies after 28 weeks of pregnancy, but before or during birth, is classified as a stillbirth. There are nearly 2 million stillbirths every year – one every 16 seconds.
Silent Birth: When a baby dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy (Stillbirth) Discusses medical information and possible options, meeting and saying goodbye to the baby, and taking care of yourself including grief and loss.
Head — collapse of the skull with overlapping bones, cranial bones become separated from the dura and periosteum. Widely open mouth and eyes are frequent with progressive maceration. Softening of all organs and connective tissues, laxity of joints.
A letter from Services Australia, dated 2 July 2025, confirms that the stillborn baby payment of $4,326.57 is available in cases of intentional abortion where a pregnancy has reached 20 weeks or the child weighs 400 grams.
International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
The official awareness colors of the cause are pink and blue and are used for the campaign's awareness ribbon.