An alarming spike in stillbirths among young Albertan women is being blamed on an uptick in syphilis and substance abuse.
The rate of stillbirth quadrupled for women aged 15 — 19, from 6.27 in 2012 to 26.32 in 2023, as reported by MountainViewToday.
For women aged 20 – 24, the rate doubled over the same period.
Among all age groups, between 2012 and 2023, the overall rate increased from 6.18 per 1,000 total births to 9.43.
“The causes of the increase in stillbirth rates in Alberta are multifactorial, influenced by factors such as variations in how stillbirths are categorized across jurisdictions and rising rates of risk-increasing factors like syphilis and substance use,” a spokesperson for Alberta Health said, adding, “Investigation into these causes is ongoing.”
To this point, syphilis cases have surged in Alberta since 2012, and many women likely didn’t get blood work done between 2020 – 2022 out of fear of going to a clinic or hospital.
“Alberta declared a syphilis outbreak in 2019 with 2,331 cases of syphilis reported that year. The outbreak continues with over 3,300 new cases reported in 2022,” AHS reported.
“We are seeing a continuing increase in syphilis in the past several years that is deeply concerning.
AHS reported that between 2014 – 2022, over 290 infants were born with congenital syphilis, and up to 20% of babies with congenital syphilis are stillborn.
Canada wide stats
As for Canada wide stats on the birth rate, the government’s latest update came in September 2023 and revealed the 2022 birth rate figures and the amount of births per capita plummeted by 7.6% in just one year, which coincidentally or not, is when the COVID vaccines were coerced into Canadians.
Per 1000 people, the 20 to 24-year-old demographic had 29.7 births in 2020, down to 27.5 in 2021, and just 24.8 in 2022 — which accounts for a 16.5% drop over those three years.
As for the 25 to 29 year-old demographic, the rate went from 76.6 in 2020, up to 77.2 in 2021, all the way down to 69.4 per 1000 in 2022 — a 9.4% drop.
At the same time, Canada’s perinatal death data has been consistent over the past 5 years up to 2022.
