Bihar is preparing to roll out the Centre’s new guidelines on stillbirth surveillance and response and will implement them through portal-based reporting across its health facilities.
So far, reporting stillbirth has been restricted to penning down numbers in hospital records. However, as part of a national effort to reduce the stillbirth rate, the Centre has worked out a robust reporting mechanism. High-risk pregnancies, anaemia, malnutrition and other medical conditions in expectant women are among the leading causes of stillbirth. The guidelines also point to poor antenatal care, hypertension, diabetes, infections and delays in reaching hospitals during labour pain. It examined causes, capacity gaps, case recording, and protocol-based reviews.
About 40% of stillbirths occur during labour, experts said. The state, on its part, collaborated with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), AIIMS Patna and UNICEF and initiated an implementation research in Purnia in October 2024 to achieve single-digit neonatal mortality (the number of deaths during the first 28 days of life per 1,000 live births) under ‘Project Sankalp’.
It is now being carried out in all districts of Bihar, officials said.
Stillbirth reporting will now be done on the maternal, perinatal, child death surveillance and response (MPCDSR) portal. The facility nodal officer must report every case within 24 hours. The doctor, nurse, or auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) who conducted the delivery must complete the reporting form within 7 days or before the mother is discharged.
A review and a brief case history of the patient also has to be mentioned on the portal, said experts..
Causes of stillbirth will be marked antenatal (occurring during pregnancy, before the birth of a child), maternal (a condition related to the mother), or intrapartum (occurring during the act of labour and childbirth).
Health facilities will review cases every month. Districts will take them up during monthly meetings, and the state will examine selected cases every quarter. Specialist facilities will submit detailed data, while peripheral centres will report a smaller set of parameters. The state health department will follow the protocol issued by the government of India in collaboration with expert partners, and is ready to put to use the new guidelines and portal-based reporting across health facilities.”
Stressing the state’s resolve to reduce stillbirths, Bihar health secretary Kumar Ravi told Hindustan Times: “Several deep-rooted issues causing stillbirths have been identified, and a protocol for them has been prescribed.
