The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate has recorded 162 stillbirths in 2025, a development that has raised concern among health officials and stakeholders over maternal and newborn health outcomes in the metropolis.

Data presented at the Directorate’s annual health performance review showed that of the 162 stillbirths recorded, 97 were macerated stillbirths, while 65 were fresh stillbirths.

Health officials noted that the figures contributed significantly to the metropolis’ perinatal mortality rate, which stood at 45 deaths per 1,000 deliveries.

Presenting the statistics, the Directorate’s Adolescent Reproductive Health Focal Person, Doris Ocansey, explained that perinatal mortality includes fresh and macerated stillbirths as well as early neonatal deaths, the deaths of babies within the first seven days of life.

She said trend analysis from 2022 to 2025 showed that although stillbirths had generally declined over the years, there was a slight increase in 2025. Macerated stillbirths, however, remained persistently high throughout the period.

Ms Ocansey expressed concern over what she described as a disconnect between high antenatal care attendance and pregnancy outcomes.

According to her, antenatal care indicators revealed that many pregnant women attended at least four antenatal visits, while others made eight or more visits, surpassing programme targets.

She questioned why the high level of antenatal attendance was not translating into improved pregnancy outcomes, noting that macerated stillbirths, which occur when a foetus dies before labour begins, are often used as a key indicator of the quality and effectiveness of antenatal care services.

“The trend raises concerns about whether pregnant women are receiving the quality of care needed to identify and manage complications early enough to prevent foetal deaths,” she said.

Health officials and stakeholders at the review meeting also expressed concern about early neonatal deaths and called for a review of delivery and post-delivery care services to identify gaps affecting newborn survival.

They explained that fresh stillbirths are often linked to undetected foetal distress and delays in clinical decision-making during labour, while macerated stillbirths point to complications occurring during pregnancy before labour begins.

Facility-level data further showed that Tema General Hospital recorded the highest number of stillbirths, accounting for 147 of the 162 cases reported across the metropolis.

Stakeholders stressed the need to strengthen the quality of antenatal care, improve early risk detection, and ensure timely referral and management of high-risk pregnancies to reduce preventable stillbirths and neonatal deaths.