Risk factors of intrapartal fetal death in a low-resource setting

Abstract

Objective: To identify the risk factors of intrapartal fetal death in a tertiary hospital in Yaoundé. Methods: It was a case-control study comparing 53 women who delivered with intrapartal fetal death to 106 women who delivered without intrapartal fetal death, carried out at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, Cameroon. Results: The risk factors of intrapartal fetal death identified at bivariate analysis were: maternal age <20 years (OR = 3.1; CI = 1.1 - 8.3), absence of regular income (OR = 2.4; CI = 1.2 - 4.7), single motherhood (OR = 2.9; CI = 1.5 - 5.7), illiteracy and primary level of education (OR = 4.7; CI = 1.9 - 11.5), referral (OR = 5.0; CI = 2.5 - 9.9), parity 0 and 1 (OR = 2.3; CI = 1.1 - 4.5), no antenatal care (OR = 9.2; CI = 2.4 - 35.6), number of antenatal visits <4 (OR = 4.2; CI = 2.1 - 8.6), antenatal care in a health center (OR = 3.8; CI = 1.9 - 7.5), antenatal care by a midwife (OR = 2.5; CI = 1.3 - 4.9) or a nurse (OR = 5.2; CI = 1.4 - 18.7), absence of malaria prophylaxis (OR = 10.6; CI = 2.9 - 39.5), absence of obstetrical ultrasound (OR = 4.7; CI = 1.9 - 10.9), prematurity (OR = 3.4; CI = 1.5 - 7.3), abnormal presentation (OR = 2.6; CI = 1.1 - 5.9), ruptured membranes at admission (OR = 2.7; CI = 1.3 - 5.4), ruptured membranes >12 hours at admission (OR = 5.1; CI = 2.5 - 10.3), stained amniotic fluid (OR = 4.8; CI = 2.4 - 9.7), labor lasting more than 12 hours (OR = 18.1; CI = 8.0 - 41.0), presence of maternal complications (OR = 4.7; CI = 2.2 - 10.3), and presence of fetal complications (OR = 48.6; CI = 18.3 - 129), particularly acute fetal distress (OR = 52.3; CI = (14.6 - 186), cord prolapse (OR = 12.1; CI = 3.3 - 43.4), and birth weight <2500 g (OR = 2.8; CI = 1.2 - 6.6). Conclusion: Close attention should be offered to pregnant women, so as to identify these risk factors and promptly provide an appropriate management.

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Foumane, P. , Mounton, A. , Sama, J. , Nguefack, S. , Pisoh, W. and Mboudou, E. (2014) Risk factors of intrapartal fetal death in a low-resource setting. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4, 101-104. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2014.43018.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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