Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Fetal Mortality by Leading Causes of Death, New Jersey, 2019-2021
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
The fetal mortality rate is a critical measure of a population's health and is an important indicator of fetal and maternal health status and medical care, but it is often overlooked. Much of the public concern surrounding reproductive loss has focused on infant mortality, due in part to lesser knowledge of the incidence, etiology, and prevention strategies for fetal mortality.[https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-08.pdf ^1^]
Definition
The number of resident fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestation per 1,000 resident live births plus fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks of gestation in the same year. A fetal death is the spontaneous, intrauterine death of a fetus at any gestational age. These deaths are commonly referred to as stillbirths.
Data Sources
- Fetal Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
(https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/) - Birth Certificate Database and Fetal Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, NJDOH
(https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator:
Number of resident fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestation in a given yearDenominator:
Number of live births plus fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestation to resident mothers in the same year
Data Issues
New Jersey law requires the reporting of all spontaneous fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestational age. Induced terminations of pregnancy (ITOPs) are not included in fetal death counts. While interjurisdictional exchange of vital records is required for births and deaths, it is voluntary for fetal deaths. In the early 2000s, New Jersey stopped receiving fetal death records for New Jersey residents who experienced a fetal death out of state. With the publication of fetal death data on CDC WONDER in 2018, an accurate count of resident fetal deaths was available for the first time in nearly 15 years and our data files were updated accordingly.Related Health Objectives and Indicators
Health Initiative: HP2030
Healthy People 2030 Objective MICH-01
U.S. Target: Reduce the rate of fetal deaths at 20 or more weeks of gestation to 5.7 per 1,000 live births and fetal deaths by 2030
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/pregnancy-and-childbirth/reduce-rate-fetal-deaths-20-or-more-weeks-gestation-mich-01
Health Initiative: HP2020
Healthy People 2020 Objective MICH-1.1
U.S. Target: Reduce the rate of fetal deaths at 20 or more weeks of gestation to 5.6 per 1,000 live births and fetal deaths by 2020
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/maternal-infant-and-child-health