Statement on the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Report

MBRRACE-UK has today (Thursday 12 March 2026) published its latest national report on perinatal mortality, which relates to babies born in 2024.

The report shows that Oxford University Hospitals' stillbirth rate in 2024 was in line with the average for comparable services, while neonatal mortality and overall perinatal mortality were lower (better) than average for similar specialist maternity units.

Deaths in modern maternity and neonatal care are thankfully rare. Because numbers are small, fluctuations can be expected from one year to the next and these differences are not statistically significant.

However, looking at trends over a longer period of time offers a more reliable indicator and the report shows a general reduction in all perinatal mortality rates at OUH over the past decade, with a more notable reduction in the number of stillbirths.

Yvonne Christley, Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, said: "It is important to remember that behind every statistic is a bereaved family, and we remain very mindful at OUH of the profound impact that the loss of a baby has on parents and loved ones. Our thoughts are with every family affected.

"As one of the country's largest specialist referral centre caring for some of the most complex pregnancies and newborns, our teams continue to focus on careful case review, learning and ongoing service improvement. Recent investment in maternity staffing, modern bereavement facilities and improvements to clinical pathways form an important part of this work.

"We remain committed to providing consistently safe, compassionate and high-quality care for all mothers, birthing people, babies and their families."

* Rates are 'stabilised and adjusted' by MBRRACE-UK to take into account factors such as mother's age and ethnicity, to allow comparisons to be made with similar units. 

The full report can be viewed on the MBRRACE-UK website: 

Perinatal mortality data viewer | MBRRACE-UK

Definitions

Perinatal

The perinatal period is the timeframe from conception (or pregnancy) up to one year after giving birth.

This covers antenatal (pregnancy), childbirth and postnatal (post-birth) stages, focusing on the mental and physical wellbeing of the parent and infant.

Neontatal

This refers to the period from birth up to 28 completed days of life.

Perinatal mortality rates

These rates measure the number of baby deaths in a hospital’s maternity services over a given period. Crude rates use ‘actual’ numbers, whereas stabilised and adjusted rates take into account factors like the mother’s age, ethnicity and social deprivation.

Extended perinatal death

For the purposes of the MBRRACE-UK report, extended perinatal death refers to all stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

Stillbirth

A stillbirth is the death of a baby occurring before or during birth once a pregnancy has reached 24 weeks.

Late fetal loss

In the MBRRACE-UK report, a baby born between 22 and 23 weeks of pregnancy, who shows no signs of life regardless of when the baby died, is referred to as a late fetal loss (sometimes referred to as a late miscarriage).

Level 3 NICU with neonatal surgical provision

OUH is a Level 3 service provider, which provides care for the most complex cases and the sickest mothers and babies. These specialist units take on high-risk cases referred by consultants working elsewhere. Any deaths occurring are counted within figures for the Level 3 service and not the transferring service.  

Further definitions

Definitions of terms used in the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report (pdf)