Understanding Stillbirth: Causes, Risk Factors, and Seeking Answers

Question
I carried my little girl to full term, and 3 days before her due date we could not find a heart beat. I was informed my baby was deceased, approximatley for 2 or 3 days in my womb. Approx. the week before I went to Lake Tahoe and got pretty sunburnt. By doing that, did I contribute to the loss of my babys life? There was nothing else that had gone wrong, she was born 7 pounds, everything else about the pregnancy was normal, and right on tract. We are so desperate for answers. Any info or direction would be greatly appreiciated.

Answer
Sunburn did not contribute to the fetal demise. Sometimes, catastrophic incidents occur, even in the womb. The fetus may have had an accidental kinking of the umbilical cord, causing decrease in oxygenation of the blood and leading to the demise. A cardiovascular accident may have occurred (heart attack). There is no way to explain a sudden fetal demise and it is devastating when it occurs so close to term. However, the fact that you got a sunburn the week before did not cause a problem for the baby.