Doctor or medical professional holding the hand of a patient
Stillbirth: Can Happen To Any Pregnancy - White Icon

Did you know that?

  • Despite many advances in obstetric and medical care, stillbirth still happens in the 21st century
  • In spite of the many medical centers and birthing centers in our state, New Jersey has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the United States
  • Some stillbirths are preventable
  • Birthing people can take steps to lower their risk of stillbirth
What is stillbirth?
Public Service Announcement: Veronica & Jackie
Public Service Announcement: Marise & Kim
Public Service Announcement (English)
Public Service Announcement (Spanish)
Woman laying in bed at a medical facility wearing a gown

About Us

stillbirth: Can Happen to Any Pregnancy Campaign

A grant from the New Jersey Department of Health was awarded to Central Jersey Family Health Consortium (CJFHC) and its three collaborating partners, Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey (PMCH), The Cooperative and Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya, stillbirth advocate and co-founder of The 2 Degrees Foundation, to develop a statewide stillbirth awareness campaign. In recognition of the fact that all pregnancies carry some risk for stillbirth, the title of the campaign Stillbirth: Can Happen to Any Pregnancy was established.

The Stillbirth Problem

Four perinatal loss expert nurses and Ms. Haine Vijayvergiya created the content for this website and consulted with marketing experts on the creation of radio and television public service announcements, town halls throughout New Jersey, and print materials. It is our sincere hope that this information will:

  • raise awareness around the problem of stillbirth in New Jersey
  • educate on strategies to prevent stillbirth
  • provide important  resources to help guide families who are grieving the loss of their stillborn baby and professionals after a stillbirth

The ultimate goal of this campaign is to reduce the number of families experiencing stillbirth. If you are a parent that has been affected by stillbirth, please accept our heartfelt condolences and wishes for peace as you navigate the future without your precious baby.

Lastly, we decided that it was critical to include the voices of parents that have experienced stillbirth. The Family Advisory Board consists of two mothers and four couples that graciously agreed to review website content and share their stories of loss with you.  We thank them for their contributions and for helping us to further understand what it is like to lose a much-loved baby.

Pregnant woman at a doctors office

Definitions of Regions by County

Northern New Jersey

Stillbirth: Can Happen To Any Pregnancy - White Icon

Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and Warren

Central New Jersey

Stillbirth: Can Happen To Any Pregnancy - White Icon

Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset

Southern New Jersey

Stillbirth: Can Happen To Any Pregnancy - White Icon

Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem

New Jersey State Map Broken Up by County

Download Comprehensive Packet: What is Stillbirth

Click the corresponding button below to download a PDF with all of the information from the PDFs on this page. We offer this comprehensive document in English, Tagalog, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean.

Videos

Public Service Announcement: Veronica & Jackie
Public Service Announcement: Marise & Kim
Public Service Announcement (English)
Public Service Announcement (Spanish)

The authors acknowledge that parents relate to a spectrum of diverse gender identities and that birthing people may not identify as women or mothers. In addition, the term “parents” may not accurately reflect each family’s unique identity. Attempts were made to use gender-inclusive and inclusive parenting language in the materials found on this website. In some instances, however, in an effort to be succinct, terms  like “mother” (and related pronouns “she” and “her”) have been used.