Changes in rates of spontaneous fetal deaths reported in Upstate New York vital records by gestational age, 1968-78.

Between 1968 and 1978, the rates for spontaneous deaths, recorded on Upstate New York fetal death certificates, that occurred after 28 or more weeks of gestation dropped 37 percent, and the rates for deaths that occurred at 20 to 27 completed weeks of gestation dropped 12 percent. However, the rates of reported spontaneous fetal deaths after 16 to 19 weeks gestation dropped only 4 percent. The rates for such deaths at 12-15 weeks of gestation increased by 21 percent and by 55 percent at less than 12 weeks of gestation. The decline in the late fetal death rate is probably attributable, at least in part, to medical and social advances during this period. The reported rise in early fetal deaths may be due, among other factors, to changes in reporting practices or to earlier deaths of conceptuses that formerly would have been lost after 20 weeks of gestation.