In this episode, our senior editor Bhavani Nivetha speaks with Rakhi Dandona, representing the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Stillbirth Collaborators, about their new research on state and national estimates of stillbirth in India at 22 and 28 weeks of gestation. The discussion explores the challenges of measuring stillbirth burden and the methods used to generate estimates despite substantial data limitations. They also discuss the study's key findings, including important insights into stillbirths occurring between 22 and 27 weeks of gestation, an area where robust evidence has been limited. The conversation highlights the policy implications of these findings for India, with a focus on prevention, improved surveillance, and addressing stillbirth as a preventable and actionable public health issue. The conversation concludes with reflections on the need for strengthened health systems, greater awareness, and continued research to reduce the burden of stillbirth across the country.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lansea/article/PIIS2772-3682(26)00104-6/fulltext

The Lancet Regional Health Southasia in conversation with... is part of the Lancet Group podcast offering.

Editorial team: Editor-in-Chief Shalini Garg and senior editors Apoorva Dharmendra and Bhavani Nivetha

Podcast editing: Matteo Simonetti

Visit https://www.thelancet.com/multimedia to learn more about our multimedia offering.

Find the best science for better lives at https://www.lancet.com Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://www.linkedin.com/company/lancetsea/ https://youtube.com/thelancettv