With 7,79,000 deaths, India has the highest newborn mortality in the world Possible:Seventy-one per cent of newborn deaths can be prevented through interventions before conception, and before, during and after pregnancy.— photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy Globally, about 5.5 million babies — nearly three million neonates and about 2.6 million stillbirths — die every year. In other words, every day, about 8,000 neonates are dying and the number of stillbirths is about 7,000. Stillbirths happen at about 28 weeks of gestation and also during labour. Babies who die during labour — just five minutes before birth — account for nearly half of all stillbirths.