Recent research shows stillbirth rates in the UK are topping countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Croatia and that more than 700 deaths a year could have been avoided.
Health experts blame a number of reasons, including a lack of midwives (England is 2,600 short of the full-time number needed), problems with monitoring and training and the need for additional scans to detect development problems during pregnancy.
Older mums and more complex births are also putting a strain on NHS resources.
One mum who’s endured the pain of a stillbirth is Laura Monks. In November 2011, her son Rueben was stillborn after problems with his delivery and she’s still struggling to cope with her loss.
Laura, 31, says: “When Rueben was born and I didn’t hear him cry it was the worst feeling imaginable.
“When I'd arrived at hospital his heartbeat was abnormal and I needed an emergency c-section, but I waited over three hours for a consultant.
"A crash team tried to revive him but it was too late. Holding my lifeless baby in my arms when I should have been taking him home tore me apart.
"The hospital has since admitted they should have delivered him sooner and I've received compensation, but it won't bring my son back."
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Read more of this story in Closer mag, out today