What are the most effective interventions during pregnancy for preventing stillbirth?

Antenatal interventions for preventing stillbirth, fetal loss and perinatal death: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviewsA stillbirth is generally defined as the death of a baby before birth, at or after 24 weeks of development. It is most common in low ‐ and middle‐income countries but also affects people in high‐income countries. Numbers of stillbirths have not fallen much in the last 20 years and, despite the high numbers, it is not widely recognised as a global health problem.This overview of Cochrane systematic reviews included 43 Cochrane reviews that assessed 61 different ways of preventing stillbirth during pregnancy, or infant deaths around the time of birth. However, few of these provided any clear evidence of an effect during pregnancy to reduce the risk of stillbirth or infant death. They were grouped into four different areas: nutrition, preventing infection, managing mothers ' other healthcare problems, and looking after the baby before it is born.NutritionGiving mothers balanced energy and protein supplements to increase the growth of the baby, particularly in undernourished pregnant women, probably reduces stillbirth by 40%.For Vitamin A alone versus placebo (sham) or no treatment, and multiple micronutrients with iron and folic acid compared with iron with or without folic acid, there was clear evidence of no effect.Prevention and management of infectionsInsecticide ‐treated anti‐malarial nets versus no nets may reduce loss of the baby in the wo...
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