Investigating Multi-Level Risk Factors of Stillbirth in New Jersey​

Stillbirth is an important but understudied public health issue. Each year, over 20,000 stillbirths (fetal deaths at 20 weeks of gestation or more) occur in the U.S., including over 600 in New Jersey. While onequarter of stillbirths are deemed preventable with timely identification of risk and proper intervention, studies on risk factors of stillbirths have notable limitations. Leveraging linked birth records and hospital discharge records, this project aims to build upon existing literature to (1) evaluate associations between physical and mental health conditions and stillbirth, (2) evaluate associations between ZIP code-level social determinants of health and stillbirth, and (3) examine heterogeneity in these associations by maternal race and ethnicity. We will use iPHD data to create a cohort of individuals with livebirths and/or stillbirths in New Jersey between 2011-2023, to identify diagnoses on hospital discharge records during pregnancy and delivery. ZIP code-level social determinants of health will be identified using data from the American Community Survey. We will uselogistic regression to determine the association between each risk factor and stillbirth adjusting for demographic characteristics, and stratified models by maternal race and ethnicity. Our team combines expertise in large-scale quantitative data analysis and clinical practice with high-risk perinatal patients. By documenting previously understudied determinants of stillbirth in New Jersey, our goal is generate results thatwill be useful to clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in New Jersey and beyond. Findings will be disseminated through presentations at academic conferences and publications in peer-reviewed journals, and will be leveraged for NIH grant funding.