Madhi SA, et al. - Researchers examined the causes of stillbirths in fetuses of at least 22 weeks' gestational age or with a birthweight of at least 500 g via performing a prospective, hospital-based, observational study in Soweto, South Africa. Analyzing 298 cases (born to 294 mothers) with complete samples, they identified maternal medical conditions (64 [21%] cases; among them 56 [19%] with hypertensive disorders and six [2%] with diabetes), placental or fetal infections (58 [19%]; 47 [16%] with fetal invasive bacterial infection), pathological placental conditions (57 [19%]; among them 27 [9%] with fetal membrane and placental inflammation and 26 [9%] with circulatory abnormalities), and clinical obstetric complications (54 [18%]; 45 [15%] with placental abruption) as the most common causes of stillbirth. There were Six (2%) stillbirths that were attributed to fetal, genetic, or structural abnormalities. Group B streptococcus (15 [5%] cases), E coli (12 [4%]), E faecalis (six [2%]), and S aureus (five [2%]) were the most common bacteria to which stillbirths due to fetal invasive infections were attributed. They identified that a cause of stillbirth in most cases could be ascertained via targeted investigation of stillbirths (even without fetal autopsy).