Baby loss statistics

Every baby deserves the best start in life, and we are committed to funding medical research and providing information to help more people to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.

Key statistics about pregnancy and loss in the UK 

In the UK, it is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth.

• 716,704 births were registered in 2020 (613,935 England & Wales; 46,809 Scotland; 55,959 Northern Ireland)

• There were 2,638 stillbirths in 2020 (2,371 England & Wales; 198 Scotland; 69 Northern Ireland)

• Approximately 60,000 babies were born prematurely in 2020

• An estimated 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in miscarriage (1 in 6 if we only count women who realised/reported the miscarriage)

• Estimates suggest there are 250,000 miscarriages every year in the UK, and around 11,000 emergency admissions for ectopic pregnancies

• There were 1,719 neonatal deaths in England and Wales in 2020

• 209 women died during or up to 6 weeks after pregnancy between 2015-2017 - this equates to 9.2 women per 100,000 who died due to causes associated with pregnancy during pregnancy or soon after.

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Media requests about baby loss statistics

Our clinicians, scientists and researchers are available to speak about stillbirth, neonatal death, premature birth and neonatal death statistics for press and media. If you are a journalist interested in speaking to a clinician from a Tommy's network of research centres, please contact Tommy's press office on 0207 398 3436 or email [email protected].