Over six in every one thousand deliveries in India in 2020 could have been a stillbirth, with higher rates among urban mothers compared to rural, according to an analysis of data from national surveys and the civil registration system.

Researchers, including those from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, also identified that stillbirth hotspots are located primarily in northern and central India.

Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan in north India recorded the highest rates of stillbirth, the findings published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal show.