Stillbirth is a tragedy that occurs in one of every 160
births in the United States. Compounding the sadness for many families, the
standard medical test used to examine fetal chromosomes often can’t pin down
what caused their baby to die in utero. In most cases, the cause of the
stillbirth is not immediately known. The traditional way to determine what happened
is to examine the baby’s chromosomes using a technique called karyotyping. This
method leaves much to be desired because, in many cases, it fails to provide
any result at all. Today, some 25 to 60 percent of stillbirths are still
unexplained.