To counter the state’s high fetal mortality rates, Tennessee officials launch “Count the Kicks” app

While fetal mortality rates have declined in Tennessee, they still remain among the highest in the nation, prompting the Department of Health to launch a new app-based maternal health initiative designed to help pregnant patients track fetal movement – an early signal of fetal distress.

Fetal mortality rates in Tennessee have fallen 18% in the past 10 years – a downward trend interrupted by a slight increase since the pandemic. The rate of stillbirths in the state continue to surpass the national average.

In some Tennessee counties, particularly in West Tennessee, fetal mortality rates stand at more than twice the national average: 5.8 fetal deaths per 1,000 live births and fetal deaths. Overall, Tennessee’s fetal death rate stands at 6.6 per 1,000 births and deaths.

Lauderdale County along the Mississippi River just north of Memphis experienced the state’s highest rate for fetal deaths – defined as the in utero death of a fetus beginning at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Haywood, Madison, Dyer, Shelby and Hickman counties also saw the highest rates of fetal deaths in Tennessee.

(READ MORE: Deaths of Tennessee children from suspected abuse or neglect rose nearly 30% in 2023)

Black women in Tennessee experienced the highest rates of fetal deaths during their pregnancies. Despite accounting for just 19% of all deliveries, non-hispanic Black pregnant women had the worst outcomes, accounting for 35% of all fetal deaths.

And amid an increase in syphilis cases in Shelby County, the fetal mortality rate experienced by patients with a syphilis infection stood more than four times higher than in those patients without the treatable disease.

In an effort to combat Tennessee’s high stillborn rates, the health department announced this week the launch of a new maternal campaign that focuses on tracking fetal movements. “Count the Kicks” will include a mobile application pregnant patients can use to keep daily track of fetal activity at the start of the third trimester. A change or slowdown in movement is often the first, or only, indication something is wrong with the pregnancy, the department noted.

“Stillbirths have a profound impact on families and preventing these tragedies is a top priority,” Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the health department, said in a news release.

The department noted that many of the causes of fetal death are well-known: a lack of prenatal care, substance use, smoking, preexisting maternal health conditions against the backdrop of persistent health disparities by race and ethnicity.

(READ MORE: WIC helps moms and kids eat. But finding what you need isn’t always easy)

But it also noted there are gaps in data that prevent a more granular understanding of what’s driving Tennessee’s high fetal mortality rates.

Cause of death data is collected from autopsies and placental exams, but neither are performed in 40% of fetal deaths.

Social drivers of health including maternal education levels, WIC enrollment and insurance status, while critical for understanding health outcomes, are not reliably collected on fetal death certificates.

And local fetal and infant mortality teams, which exist in only a few parts of the state and work to identify and address root causes of poor pregnancy outcomes, vary widely in the work they are able to accomplish.

Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.