Question: why can babies die when in a womans womb ?

Kimberley Bryon answered on 13 Jun 2011:

Hi caitlink0406,

Unfortunately a baby can die before it is born. This is obviously a very sad thing but usually it is because the baby wouldn’t have survived if it had been born. Genetic defects account for about 12% of the reasons why a baby dies before it is born.

Genetic defects

The DNA that you get from your parents is packaged into 46 chromosomes in each cell in your body. You get 23 from your Mum and 23 from your Dad. These chromosomes contain all the information needed to make you, like a big instruction manual. The chromosomes are numbered 1-21 and then either X or Y (XX makes you a girl, XY makes you a boy).

Sometimes, there is a mistake in the instruction manual and you get the wrong number of chromosomes. Unfortunately, either too little or too many mean that a baby will die very early on in its development. The only exceptions to this that I know of are people’s with Klinefelter syndrome where you get XXY ( and Down’s syndrome when you have an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Sometimes a baby can inherit a genetic condition from its parents such as a heart defect and they can’t develop normally and die as well.

There are other reasons why a baby can die in the womb:

Ante-partum haemorrhage

In a healthy pregnancy, the placenta which feeds the baby and provides oxygen will naturally begin to separate from the lining of the womb as, or shortly after the baby is born. Ante-partum haemorrhaging happens when the placenta begins to separate prematurely. The baby then doesn’t get the food/ oxygen it needs to survive and dies.

Pre-eclampsia

This is where the mother experiences high blood pressure and can lead to the death of the baby and in some cases the mother too.

Rhesus incompatibility

Your blood group can be either Rhesus (Rh) positive or negative. If a mother’s blood group is Rh negative and the baby’s blood group is Rh positive then the mother may develop antibodies to the Rh positive baby. While a woman’s first Rh positive baby will usually be born without complication, any antibodies she may have developed could remain in her blood, so appropriate treatment is given after the birth to help prevent subsequent babies with Rh positive blood to be stillborn.

Obstetric cholestasis

This is a liver disease of pregnancy, characterised by itching all over the body. Normal functioning of the liver is affected, meaning the blood is not effectively cleansed of potentially dangerous toxins. If it is not diagnosed and is left untreated it can lead to babies dying.

There are lots more reasons why a baby can die including if the mother gets ill, if the mother’s immune system isn’t working properly.

I hope that this has answered your question, if you want any more detail just let me know.