According to recent research, about 2 million babies are stillborn each year, or once every 16 seconds. It goes on to say that the great majority of stillbirths, 84%, occur in low- and lower-middle-income African nations.
Stillbirth, or the death of a baby during pregnancy or delivery, is one of the most heartbreaking losses a parent can endure. Stillbirth is connected with trauma and severe loss, yet women’s belief systems can insulate them from the effects of mourning.
Source: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health UoM
Women in Africa have a disproportionately high burden of stillbirth.
Losing a child at birth or during pregnancy is a heartbreaking loss for a family, and it is one that is often discreetly, but all too regularly, faced across the world.
Every 16 seconds, a woman somewhere in the world will experience the unfathomable tragedy of stillbirth. Aside from the loss of life, the psychological and financial implications to women, families, and society are significant and long-term.
It didn’t have to be this way for many of these mothers. The majority of stillbirths might have been avoided with good prenatal care and a qualified delivery attendant.
According to the report, Nigeria has the world’s second-highest rate of stillbirth at 42.9 per 1,000 births.
According to the research, the majority of stillbirths are caused by inadequate prenatal and postnatal care. Key issues include a lack of investment in prenatal and intrapartum care, as well as a need to enhance the nursing and midwifery personnel.
While a large number of stillbirths in Nigeria is a significant loss, we must remember that each one is a unique tragedy with ramifications well beyond the loss of life for the family involved.
Each stillbirth has a painful and long-term impact on women and their families, who frequently experience deep psychological anguish as well as shame in their communities.
The significance of cultural and religious beliefs in stillbirth has been described as a “double-edged sword.” On the one hand, traditional customs encourage the development of emotions linked with stillbirth, while religious beliefs encourage women to respect the value of life.
In a viral tweet hosted by a well-known doctor on Twitter known as @DrOlufunmilayo or #OurFavOnlineDoc, he had a lot to say about Abiku, and the following are some of his comments.
Abiku does NOT exist. It’s an African cultural belief to explain something our forefathers never understood. Abiku is actually a “stillbirth” or “childhood death” and there are MANY basic sensible medical explanations why it happens. The Abiku idea is a myth. A scam and a lie.
Medically a “stillbirth” is death of an unborn viable child while in the womb before it is born or immediately after birth. What is a “viable” unborn child? The age of viability differs with countries but it is assumed to be the age a child can survive in an incubator if born.
So in a country like UK, age of viability is 24weeks while in Nigeria it is 28weeks. So basically a stillbirth is death of a child from 28weeks of life till birth. This is what we tend to refer to Abiku especially when it happens repeatedly. But there are reasons it happens.
Placenta problems/ abnormally located placenta or premature placenta separation- Congenital problems- High blood pressure in mother- Liver problems and diabetes in mother- Sickle cell and other gene problems in baby- Serious infections in the womb- These are reasons babies die.
Smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs while pregnant- Being overweight or obese- Parents being more than 35years old especially mother- Having multiple pregnancies like twins or triplets- These are situations that tend to increase likelihood of a child being born dead.
Now children may also die in their growing years, due to things like- malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea, chest infections and also viral infections (mostly the ones we now thankfully get vaccinations for these days like measles, rubella, polio etc). These things kill children.
We hope this post was as useful and instructive to you as it was to us when conducting research and putting it together.
